Inheritence- the Next Generation of Riders
by PercyJackson67
Summary: 100 years after Eragon defeated Galbatorix, the next generation of Riders has arrived. The story follows Eragon, Murtagh, Roran, and Arya, as well as several next gen. characters including Ari, Nathon, Vala, Holly, Sam, and Vanur.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer- I do not own Eragon, well I own a copy of all four books, but I do not own the original concept, nor the characters, settings, or original story. I only claim possession of the events and NEW character's and settings depicted in my story.

**The Return of the Riders**

**An Eragon Fanfiction by PercyJackson67**

**CHAPTER 1-**

The night air was cool and the grass damp. The red-headed Elf crouched down low in the grass as she crept towards her prey. She pulled an arrow from her quiver and pulled it back along her bow. Her bow was strong, sung by her Master from a very strong, yet flexible tree that she could never remember the name of.

She drew back her arm, preparing to loose her arrow at the young fox. Suddenly, a large, dark form swept in from the sky, grabbed the fox, and carried it off. Ari sighed and reached out to her friend with her mind.

_We are supposed to be working together, Agenna._

_ Well you took to long, I was getting hungry._

_ You were getting impatient._

_ In any case, why did you have to choose such a thin __fox? This won't even come close to satisfying me._

_ It's not for eating, it's a test of our teamwork. We're supposed to show Ebrithil that we can function as a team, otherwise we'll never get to go back to the mainland with the other Riders._

_ Well, we have the fox, we can tell him that we worked together and successfully caught a snack._

_ You want to _lie_ to Eragon-elda?_

_ What he doesn't know won't hurt him._

_ No, but it could very well hurt us if we do end up going back to Alagaesia and we can't function together properly._

_ True enough, but I doubt that Eragon-elda and Saphira Bjartskularwould give us a very dangerous mission as our first one, not to mention they'd send one of the more experienced Riders with us, if he and Saphira themselves didn't come._

_ Why would they come__? I'm sure that they are much too busy with the other students to busy themselves with such a trivial matter as our first mission. Plus, you're no big enough for me to ride, yet._

This was true. The young silver-colored dragon was only about a fifth the size of Saphira. She was only half the size of some of the other dragons who were still novice flyers themselves. Ari turned a curve on the game trail and came to a clearing with Agenna laying down in the middle, the fox still trapped in her claws.

''Let it go, Agenna. We have time for one more try. If we don't work together properly this time, I will tell Ebrithil about our failure.''

_Can I at least have a snack first?_

''No, Agenna. I want to pass Eragon-elda's test before midnight so that we can get some rest before tomorrow. Murtagh-elda says he has a special assignment for us.''

_Ugh. When can we spend some time and just go out hunting for fun? We used to do that all the time, Ari._

''I'll talk to Eragon-elda and Bjartskular and try to get permission for a couple of days off, okay?''

_Very well._

_ Are you two calling it a night?_

Ari and Agenna turned to see one of their longest friends walking up to them. He was tall, lean, with blonde hair, pointed ears, and had a comforting aura about him. He was by no means Elvish, he was quite human, but the transformation that made all Human Riders look Elvish affected him much more strongly than most Riders.

His dragon was fairly unimpressive. He had dull, gray scales, much less lusterous than Agenna's silver scales. His talons were of medium size and not as hooked as most dragons', his wings were small, but proportionate to his overall body size, which from nose to tail was about ten feet long. Really, the only thing special about him was the fact that even as small as he was, he still had the strength to carry his Rider whilst flying.

Nathon and Timberwolf had a stronger bond than most, Ari had actually heard Eragon-elda say that the _yawë _that Nathon and Timberwolf shared was almost as strong as the bond that he himself had with Saphira. It was a bond that Ari envied. Even though Agenna hatched for her, the silver dragon refused to listen to her, she would always find her own way of doing things, even if such a way contradicted the path Ari suggested they take.

Ari had tried to meet her partner halfway, but the dragon just wasn't willing to go the other half. It was sofrustrating that Ari had lost count of the number of nights she had cried herself to sleep or had come close to giving up and releasing Agenna from their yawë to live in the wild, free.

''Hello, Nathon, Timberwolf. What are you doing out here so late?''

''Ebrithil sent us to check on you. Are you guys making any progress?''

_Not really. My Rider doesn't think that swooping down from the sky is an effective way to catch a fox unawares. _Agenna said to Timberwolf.

Timberwolf replied, _While it is effective, you might want to try it her way just once. She needs to work on her hunting skill as well. She'll be the one hunting for you if you get injured and are unable to catch your own food. _

''That's right.'' Nathon continued, ''Besides, you are supposed to be working on a way to work together, not just finding the most effective way to hunt. True, a dragon swooping down from the sky is probably the most effective way to hunt, but that doesn't mean that Ari deosn't have an effective way to hunt as well.''

_Plus, how are you going to swoop down if there's no opening in the trees large enough to fit through?_ Timberwolf inquired rhetorically.

_I guess you're right. But I don't see the point of this. If I see a large enough opening, why can't I just swoop down?It would save arrows and time._

''That's true, Agenna, but if you don't let me hunt once in a while, then this partnership is going to be kind of one-sided. Plus, eventually, I might lose my ability to hunt altogether.''

_Fine. Shall we begin?_

''Yes. Let us go.'' Ari turned to Nathon and Timberwolf. ''Do you wish to accompany us?''

''Sure. Why not? We have nothing better to do.''

Ari, Agenna and their companions set off towards the woods. Once they reached the edge of the forest, Ari explained to Agenna her plan for the hunt, then Nathon jumped on his dragon's back, and the dragon's took to the sky while Ari darted into the forest.

After about ten minutes of searching, Ari saw a large buck drinking from a creek.

She knelt down and the deer snapped its head up. She looked it in the eye and conveyed her thoughts to the magnificent creature.

Showing the deer her hand, the _gedwëy ignasia _glowing upon her palm, she said, _Eka fricai un Shur'tugal. _I am a Rider and a friend. The deer slightly nodded, then bolted away.

Ari smiled, then shouted, ''SKULBLAKA'S VEN!'' Her eyes turned the shining silver of her dragon's scales, and she could see the deer as Agenna saw it. She could see herself on the ground, and could see the ground with even sharper detail than she herself had at first. She darted after the deer while nocking an arrow at the same time.

_Agenna, follow that deer, I need you to maintain a visual of me and it so that I can see what I'm doing!_

_ Okay!_

As fast as the deer was, Ari was faster, and her Elven legs caused her to slowly overtake the fleeing creature. As soon as she was close enough, she cancelled her dragon eyes spell and shot her arrow straight through the buck's heart. It died instantly and without pain.

_Eka elrun ono. _She sent her thought to the lifeless creature's mind. I thank you.

_Agenna, can you find an opening?_

_ I think so._

_ Good, come down here and carry this buck back to Ebrithil, please._

_ Very well._

Not ten seconds later, the dragon picked up the deer and carried it off.

_Thank you for listening to me this time._

_ You had a good idea. I can't believe I never thought of that. It was very effective. _

_ Thank you._

_ Not as effective as me swooping down, mind you, but it was still very effective. I think Eragon-elda and Bjartskular will be pleased with our progress. Maybe it wouldn't kill me to listen to you every once in a while._

_ Thank you, and I will listen to you as well._

The four students arrived at Eragon and Saphira's home ten minutes later. They all fell silent as Eragon spoke.

''Saphira and I are quite proud of your progress with your _yawë_, Agenna and Ari-no.''

''Ebrithil, what is 'no'?''

''In the Nomad language, it is a suffix attached to the name of someone you respect. It is similar to 'elda' in the Elven language, but not restricted to a superior. I respect all of my students, which is why I attach 'no' to the end of everyone's name.''

''I see.''

''As I was saying, we are proud of you for making this much progress with your bond. Using your dragon's eye in order to get an aerial view of your prey and your surroundings, Saphira and I use this method quite often when she is unable to get to our prey. Well done.'' At this, he turned to Nathon and Timberwolf and continued speaking. ''I assume that you two are partially to blame for helping Ari and Agenna-no to come this far, am I right in assuming this?''

''We just wanted to help.''

''I am aware of this, which is why I will ask Murtagh to forgive you for being out so late. We are always encouraging you students to assisst one another, which is why it would be unfair for us to punish you for doing just that.''

Ari spoke up, ''Ebrithil, forgive me for interrupting, but Nathon, I thought you said your Master told you to check on us?''

''That's partially true.'' Nathon answered. ''He actually told us to fetch you tomorrow morning for his test, so I figured I'd spend the night in your guest room so we could all head out first thing in the morning.''

''Oh. You know that it is inappropriate for a teenage boy to spend the night with a teenage girl.''

''Well then, Nathon shall stay in my home tonight if you do not want him in your home.'' Eragon replied.

''But I thought you said-''

''I trust that you two will not do anything stupid, Ari-no. You are smart enough to make good decisions, which is why you are my favorite student.''

''Eka elrun ono, Ebrithil.''

*****''Atra finna slytha ono un atra ono vakna heill, Ari un Agenna-no. Un ono, Timberwolf un Nathon-vodhr.'' Both Eragon and Saphira said

*****''Atra esterní ono thelduin/Mor'ranr lífa unin hjarta onr/Un du evarínya ono varda, Ebrithilar.'' All four of the students replied.

They all left Eragon and Saphira's house and headed to Ari's home. Agenna shared her nest with Timberwolf while Nathin slept in Ari's guest room.

They awakned the next morning, ate breakfast, and left for Murtagh's house on the other side of Vroengard.

''Kvetha Fricaya!'' Greetings friends! Murtagh was not the most formal of the five Elders, but he was one of the most well-liked.

Behind him stood Thorn, a red dragon that almost dwarfed Saphira, even though he was at least two years younger. Strapped to the dragon's saddle was Zar'roc, Murtagh's sword, the sword that once belonged to Morzan, the strongest of the Wyrdfell, the Forsworn, and Murtagh's father.

Besides Murtagh and Eragon, there were three other Elders, each of whom taught a different subject.

Murtagh was the swordplay Elder. Rhunön, the late swordsmith, had taught Murtagh everything about forging the swords, so he was now the one who forged the Rider's weapons from Brightsteel.

Eragon was the Elder who developed the bond between dragon and Rider. He also was the one who kept the eggs that had not hatched yet, and handed each of them to every potential Rider until they did hatch. He also served as the Head Rider, the one Rider who was in charge of the entire Order. He served almost as the King of Vroengard.

Glaedr was the Elder who taught History. He was a Riderless dragon, his Rider, Oromis, had fallen in combat against Galbatorix more than a hundred years ago. Now, he taught History from inside his Eldunari, his Heart of Hearts.

Arya was the former Queen of the Elves, and the newest Elder. She gave her throne to her closest friend and joined the Order of the Riders to teach Magic to the new apprentices.

Roran was the newest Rider of the Elders, he became a rider almost a year after Arya, but he became an Elder of the Order almost ten ears before Arya gave up her throne and became an Elder herself. Roran rode a medium-sized white Dragon named Perlao. Despite the fact that he was more than three years behind his cousin, Eragon, he and Perlao ruled the sky. He and his dragon taught Flying to the young Riders and dragons.

Of course, the Elder's dragons were treated with the same respect as the Elders themselves, but the Elders were the actual teachers while the dragons of the Elders and students sat on the sidelines and watched or went hunting.

Today, Elder Murtagh was giving private lessons in swordplay to Ari and Nathon. Ari was equipped with armor befitting a female Elven warrior. It was blue cloth that came over her right shoulder and covered her chest, leaving her left shoulder exposed. Over her chest was a silver breastplate with a blue rampant dragon emblazened upon it, the crest of the Order. On the cloth covering her shoulder was several separate steel chevrons for protection.

Her belt had one diamond on it, similar to Eragon's Belt of Beloth the Wise. That one gem signified her being the first rank of Rider- Apprentice. Her leggings were blue, and almost tight around her legs. They were a perfect fit as the leggings of all Riders were made specifically for the Rider who wore them. She wore simple leather boots that went up to her knees. She wielded a simple longsword forged for training new Riders who don't like the bulky broadswords or the short blade of shortswords.

Nathon wore similar garb, but the cloth covered both shoulders. He wielded a broadsword instead of a longsword, though. The metal on his armor was made of steel instead of silver, so as to make it gray instead of silver. His breastplate had the same blue rampant dragon on it as all of the Rider's standards, shields, and breastplates.

Murtagh's armor was no different than Nathon's other than the color of the metal, which was red. He also wore a red cloak draped upon his shoulder's, signifying his rank of Elder. Instead of diamonds, his belt had eleven red rubies on it.

Once a student becomes a full-fledged Rider, the diamond on theire belt is replaced with a gem or piece of metal that matched the color of the Rider's dragon, then another for each rank the Rider gains until the Rider becomes an Elder, which automatically give the Rider a total of eleven gems or metal shards as well as a cloak ofthe same color as the Rider's dragon.

Eragon was the only exception. As Head Rider, he bore the belt of Beloth the Wise, twelve clear diamonds on it. He wore a blue cloak that matched Saphira, his armor was blue, his cloth was white, as was the rampant dragon on his breastplate.

''I should tell you that Eragon has decided that once you pass my test, you two can take the other tests. If you pass them, you two will be full-fledged Riders and I will forge your swords from brightsteel to your specifications. Also, your dragons should be hitting their growth spurts any day now. Within the next few weeks, your dragons should be strong enough to ride.''

''Timberwolf can already carry me.''

''Carry. Not ride. And I mean seriously ride, not just around Doru Araeba. I'm talking about making the ride from Vroengard to Alagaesia. Strong enough to ride into battle. Strong enough to wear armor while being ridden. They should soon be able to breathe fire.'' As if on cue, Agenna let loose a stream of red and orange flame, startling Murtagh, Ari, and Nathon.

''On that note, Ari, try to disarm me. I will take it easy on you because for now you're still a student, and you don't have a sword that was mad specifically for you.''

**So, this is my continuation of the Inheritance Cycle, please comment on what I can do to improve for my next chapter. Also, tell me what you think of my new characters. Below I have attached a couple translations of some Elvish phrases you may not recognize. **

*Atra finna slytha ono un atra ono vakna heill, Ari un Agenna-no. Un ono, Timberwolf un Nathon-vodhr.- May sleep find you and may you awaked refreshed, Ari and Agenna-no. And you, Timberwolf and Nathon-vodhr. (I used the word for 'healed' because I couldn't find any Elven word for 'refreshed')

*Atra esterní ono thelduin/Mor'ranr lífa unin hjarta onr/Un du evarínya ono varda, Ebrithilar.- May good fortune rule over you/Peace live in your heart/And the stars watch over you, Masters.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer- I do not own Eragon, well I own a copy of all four books, but I do not own the original concept, nor the characters, settings, or original story. I only claim possession of the events and NEW character's and settings depicted in my story.

**The Return of the Riders**

**An Eragon Fanfiction by PercyJackson67**

_''I should tell you that Eragon has decided that once you pass my test, you two can take the other tests. If you pass them, you two will be full-fledged Riders and I will forge your swords from brightsteel to your specifications. Also, your dragons should be hitting their growth spurts any day now. Within the next few weeks, your dragons should be strong enough to ride.''_

_ ''Timberwolf can already carry me.''_

_ ''Carry. Not ride. And I mean seriously ride, not just around Doru Araeba. I'm talking about making the ride from Vroengard to Alagaesia. Strong enough to ride into battle. Strong enough to wear armor while being ridden. They should soon be able to breathe fire.'' As if on cue, Agenna let loose a stream of red and orange flame, startling Murtagh, Ari, and Nathon._

_ ''On that note, Ari, try to disarm me. I will take it easy on you because for now you're still a student, and you don't have a sword that was mad specifically for you.''_

**CHAPTER 2-**

Ari took up a defensive stance and waited for Murtagh to make the first move. She heard him mumble something under his breath that sounded like, ''Drama kid.'' This didn't make any sense because as far as Ari was aware, she had never had anything to do with any drama at all. She didn't have time to think about it though, because right then, Murtagh attacked.

He stepped forward and swung his sword up at the same time. Ari tightened her grip on the sword and tried to counterattack. She blocked the strike, then followed through with a thrust to the chest, knowing that Murtagh was going to sidestep it, leaving himself open and allowing her to disarm him.

_Humans, even Rider humans, are so predictable._

However, he didn't sidestep, her blade sank deep into his chest. Ari stood there, stunned. Murtagh removed the blade from his chest, crumpled to the ground, and dissolved.

Ari stood there in confusion for a second before hersword clattered to the ground ten feet away. Murtagh stood in front of her, Zar'roc in hand.

_It was an illusion?_

''Yes, it was a spell that I developed, a simple illusion spell. Draumra ven. Dream eyes. I'm able to project my thought's into your mind as a dream, causing you to see things that aren't there.''

''That's amazing, but unfair.''

''Do you think your real enemies will play fair?''

''You said you'd take it easy on me.''

''Do you think your real enemies will be honest? You're just mad because you failed. But not to worry, you get ten tries. You have to succeed seven times at least. You can fail a total of three times. If you fail four times, you fail the test, but you are welcome to take it again tomorrow.''

''Okay. So I failed once, I have nine more tries. Piece of cake.''

Ari took up her defensive stance again, allowing Murtagh to once again make the first move. He stepped forward again, bringing his sword up again. She didn't move, knowing that this was another trick. She was surprizes again when her sword clattered out of her hands again.

''You didn't think I'd use the same trick again, did you?''

''The thought crossed my mind.''

''Prepare yourself again.''

This time, she changed tactics, not allowing Murtagh to prepare, she stepped forward and thrusted inwards towards his gut. He jumped back, and she swung her sword up to clash with his blade. With a quick flick of the wrist, she disarmed him.

''Very good. Now do it again.''

Ari tried something different again. ''Draumra ven.'' she whispered. She imagined herself falling to the ground writhing in pain.

''I'm not falling for that, I heard you whisper 'Draumra ven'. You need to work on being silent.''

With a sigh, she cancelled the spell and felt the drain of energy cease. She tried a different magical approach, something more direct. ''Brisingr.'' she said out loud, and Zar'roc caught fire.

Murtagh laughed and said, ''Rider's swords are protected against enchantments like that. You can't damage me or my sword like that.''

Ari forced more energy into her spell, causing the red bladed sword to heat up. With a yelp, Murtagh dropped his sword in pain as the heat became too much.

''Waise heill.'' He muttered. ''I've never seen anyone take that approach, nicely done, that was original.''

''Elrun ono, Ebrithil.''

Ari and Murtagh both took up stances, but Ari was drained of energy. Murtagh noticed, and gave her some of his. They then clashed swords, each of them attacking and blocking one another's attacks.

Murtagh cast, ''Stenr risa.'' and threw five stones at her.

''Skolir.'' She deflected the stones, then retaliated, ''Letta.''

Murtagh's movement's stopped until he muttered, ''Ganga.'' which allowed him to move again. Ari had already closed the gap between them and put their blades together, twisting them until her's was on top.

Just before she could finish disarming him, Murtagh said, ''Audr.'' Up. Her blade left her hands and flew into the sky, landing and sticking in the ground a few feet behind her.

She walked back over, picked up her sword, and took up her original defensive stance. Murtagh cautiously stepped towards her and took a test swing at her sword. She blocked it, and cast, ''Huildr.'' Hold. Zar'roc would not separate from Ari's blade. ''Ganga raehta.'' The swords tried to fly off to the right, but each of them managed to hold on to their swords, but now Murtagh was open.

''Thraughta.'' Throw. Murtagh flew backwards, leaving his sword still attached to Ari's. She cancelled the spell and allowed Zar'roc to fall to the ground.

''Kausta.'' Murtagh used this spell to call his sword to him. The score now was 3-3. Ari needed the score to be 7-3.

_Four more times._

Without missing a beat, Ari cast, ''Slytha.'' Sleep. Murtagh's wards seemed to counter that one themselves, but she then focused her spell on his sword hand, causing it to go numb, then did the same to his other. She then stepped up and with one swing, caused the sword to leave his hand.

_Three more._

The fifth time she succeeded took about three minutes, but she won by distracting Murtagh by casting, ''Hvitr.'' White. All it did was turn her sword white, but it was a sufficient distraction that allowed her to disarm him.

The sixth time she won by hiding herself with ''frethya'' allowing her to sneak up to him and cast ''jierda'' breaking his hand. He healed it after, but it was a good idea.

Now she only needed one more success. She started be casting, ''Thraughta.''

Murtagh flew backwards and landed on his back, but he quickly jumped up, only to be hit with, ''Ganga aptr.'' Making him fly back again. expectingto be thrown backwards, he braced himself and threw a reversal spell behind him. When Ari threw him backwards again, he would hit the reversal, then fly towards her instead, surprizing her and easily disarming her.

Instead, she surprized him by casting, ''Kausta.'' Murtagh flew towards her and, keeping the flow of energy into bringing him forwards, she cast,''Letta sverdar.'' Stop sword. Murtagh smiled and brought his sword up when he was just close enough to clash with her sword.

''Rider's swords are protected against simple spells like that, remember?''

''Yes I do. My sword isn't a Rider's sword.''

Murtagh's smiled faded when he realized that he couldn't move Ari's sword no matter how much strength he put behind it.

By the time he casted the counterspell, Ari examined the enchantments on Zar'roc, then cast a kindof wordy spell that wove itself around the defenses and caused it to teleport five inches away, just enough to be out of Murtagh's hands.

Ari had passed the test, but the energy drain was too much and she fainted dead away.

''You are smart, but reckless, Ari. In any case, you pass.'' Murtagh said after feeding her enough energy to keep her from dying and the waking her up with ''vakna''.

''Elrun ono, Murtagh-elda.'' Ari replied weakly.

**So I didn't wait long to post the second chapter, I was kind of on a roll, even though this chapter isn't even a third as long as the other chapter, I figured I'd go ahead and end this one after Ari passes Murtagh's test. Only three more tests to go. Please comment on my stories, all of them, not just my Rated M's. So far, only those are the one's being commented on, and it's frustrating.**


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer- I do not own Eragon, well I own a copy of all four books, but I do not own the original concept, nor the characters, settings, or original story. I only claim possession of the events and NEW character's and settings depicted in my story.

**The Return of the Riders**

**An Eragon Fanfiction by PercyJackson67**

_Ari had passed the test, but the energy drain was too much and she fainted dead away._

_ ''You are smart, but reckless, Ari. In any case, you pass.'' Murtagh said after feeding her enough energy to keep her from dying and the waking her up with ''vakna''._

_ ''Elrun ono, Murtagh-elda.'' Ari replied weakly._

**CHAPTER 3-**

Nathon stepped up and began his test. The first matchbegan with him and Murtagh jabbing and slashing, thrusting and cutting, furiously trying to get inside and disarm each other. After ten minutes, Nathon managed to get in a lucky strike, and Zar'roc went flying.

Murtagh retrieved his sword, then both combatants took up offensive stances, legs spread apart, knees bent, sword held in one hand raised above their heads, blade tip pointing at their opponent, other hand out in front of them ready to cast a spell at a moments notice.

Nathon attacked first, ''Vëoht!'' Slow. Murtagh tried to attack, but found his movements sluggish.

*****''Brakka du vanyalí sem huildar eka!''

Free from Nathon's spell, Murtagh countered with ''Thrysta vindr.'' Compress the air.

Nathon then found himself unable to breathe. He barely managed to get out the words ''Deloi sharjalví.'' Earth, move. The ground underneath Murtagh shifted, breaking his concentration on his spell. Nathon caught his breath just in time to tighten his grip on his sword and prevent himself from dropping it from lack of oxygen.

Murtagh muttered, ''Audr'' and flew into the sky. ''Reisa du adurna.'' Raise the water.

Nathon jumped back as a large ball of water from the creek slammed into the spot where he had just stood. As Murtagh's feet settled on the ground once more, Nathon cast, ''Rïsa'' on a large rock next to himself, then ''Thraughta'' to throw it at Murtagh.

''Kodthr.'' Murtagh caught the stone using magic, then allowed it to fall to the ground.

Nathon cast ''Audr'' in an attempt to make Zar'roc fly up and out of Murtagh's hands, but Murtagh countered with ''Blöthr.'' Halt. Nathon launched into a series of attacks while casting ''Letta'' repeatedly. Eventually, Murtagh disarmed him. After retrieving his sword, he drew some energy from Timberwolf, himself, and from the creatures and plants all around him and stored the energy he gathered in the single diamond on his belt. He didn't draw enough from nature to kill anything, just enough to have some to spare.

He reached out to Ari and Agenna with his mind and asked them if they would let him borrow some energy from them, to which they agreed. He storedthe energy they gavehim in his belt as well, then placed the rest of his own energy in the diamond. Noticing Nathon's fatigue, Murtagh gave him some energy from one of the eleven rubies on his belt.

After Nathon was restored, Murtagh restored himself with the energy in his belt, then they both began again. Murtagh disarmed Nathon again quickly, before he could finish preparing. The fourth match got interesting.

Murtagh started by casting ''Audr'' on Nathon's sword.

Nathon countered with ''Blöthr.''

Murtagh cast ''Letta.''

Nathon cast ''Gánga.'' Go.

Murtagh cast ''Rïsa'' then ''Thraughta'' on a tree branch on the ground.

Nathon countered with ''Kodthr'' then ''Gánga raehta'', throwing the branch to the right.

Anything Murtagh cast at Nathon, Nathon would counter. That's not to say that Nathon could get a hit in, either. Murtagh countered everything magical that Nathon cast, as well. Soon, Nathon found his diamond empty, and he was almost out of energy himself. He needed to end this quickly.

Somehow, he managed to get close to his master, and cast ''Slytha'' and send Murtagh to sleep before he could react. Murtagh and Zar'roc hit the ground. Ari woke Murtagh up with ''Vakna.''

Murtagh refreshed Nathon, then they resumed fighting.

The fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth matches were won by Nathon, The nineth match went to Murtagh.

The tenth match went quickly,because Nathon was highy fatigued. Murtagh won, leaving the score as 6-4. Nathon failed.

''You have fought well, but you did not succeed in your test. However, since you are the first student I have ever tested that thought to gather and store energy in your belt, as well as use your belt's energy during the test, I am giving you one point. Also, since you spent one round learning how to counter my magical attacks, and ended up countering every magical attack I threw at you, I am reducing myself by one point.

''Unless I'm mistaken, that means that you have 7 points to my 3. That means you pass the test, and may take the Eldress Arya's test now. The four of you head to her home in the northern House of Doru Araeba.''

*****''Véldigra, Ebrithilar.''

*****''Atra esterní ono thelduin, lérlingar iet.''

''Un ono, Murtagh-elda un Thorn Bjartskular.''

Ari, Nathon, Agenna, and Timberwolf arrived at Arya's home in about fifteen minutes. The dragons drooped Ari and Nathon off at the front door, then flew up to the roof where Fírnen awaited them. Eldress Arya was waiting for Ari and Nathon at the door, greeted them very formally, then escorted them through her house.

It wasn't entirely accurate to call it a ''house''. Her home was about five stories high, and about a mile around.

Five grand libraries made up the ground floor, the second floor was made up of her bedroom and three guest rooms, each with its own bathroom, and her armory. The armory had a strange green glowing lance that Ari did not like the look of, several Rider's swords from the previous Age of the Dragon Riders, as well as hundreds of enchanted relics.

Arya lead them up to the third floor, which was nothing but a massive training room. It had ten large rectangles with one circle of gems on each end evenly spaced around the room. One circle of each rectangle had the symbol for the earth in the center, and the other circle had the moon symbol.

The only exception was the largest rectangle, the one in the center of the room. It had one circle of diamonds with the moon symbol, but the other circle was a circle of emeralds,and it had the sun symbol in it. Arya stepped in the circle of emeralds, and motioned for Ari to step into the other circle across from her.

''Okay, so this is how this works; this is a magic duel test. Your objective is to defeat me in a duel. In order to make it a fair test, I am limiting us both to using only the main elemental spells, as well as the shield spell. You will notice that I have a source for each of the elements in this room, so you won't have to conjur any of them up except for lightning and light.'' It was true. There was an artificial creek flowing on the floor along the four walls. There were lanterns lining the walls. The ground was covered in dirt all around them, and there was obviously air in the room. The lanterns cast flickering shadows around the room.

''In case you have forgotten, the spells are; Brisingr for fire, Adurna for water, Vindr for air, Deloi for earth, Kveykva for lightning, Garjzla for light, Sundavr for shadow, and Skölir for shield. You can manipulate the elements by visualising what you want them to do. For example, Brisingr!'' As she spoke the word, a small flame left one of the lanterns and floated over to Arya. It began flickering, until it took on the form of a large bird, which flew up to the ceiling, then dove down to attack Ari. Just before it hit her, it disappeared.

''You see? It's simple, but it takes a lot of energy to do, depending on what you are attempting. That is why I have the gems around each circle. They are completely full of energy. If you put any more energy in them, they will shatter. Also, to refresh your memory, water beats fire, fire beats earth, earth beats lightning, lightning beats wind, and wind beats water. Light and shadow have the ability to defeat each other depending on how they are used.

''Anyways, the duel will be turn-based. In other words, you will cast an elemental spell at me, I will try to block it, then I will shoot a spell at you. You will attempt to block it, then the cycle begins again. Your goal is to win three duels against me in thirty minutes. You win a duel by knocking me out of my circle. Understand?''

''Yes, Arya svit-kona.''

''Then begin.''

''Vindr.'' Nothing appeared to happen, but Ari had cast a spell, so Arya went next.

''Adurna.'' An orb of water rose from the creek, then flew at Ari, only to hit a wall of air and dissipate, not even getting her wet.

Ari smiled and retaliated. ''Brisingr.'' One of the lanterns shot a ball of fire at Arya.

''Skölir eka fra brisingr!'' Shield me from fire. *****''Deloi, rïsa un thaefathan unin stenrar.'' Several balls of dirt rose from the ground and seemed to suddenly harden, then all of them flew towards Ari. The wall of air rose again, but thestones were to heavy for it, so they still struck Ari, though they didn't cause near as much pain as they would have otherwise.

''Thrysta vindr!'' Arya doubled over, unable to breathe.

''Garjzla naina.'' Brilliant light shone forth, blinding Ari, breaking her concentration on her air spell. Able to breathe again, Arya attacked again with the same earth spell as before. ''Deloi, rïsa un thaefathan unin stenra.'' Again, stones bombarded Ari's wall of air, and again, they flew through it, weakened.

Ari recovered from the light just in time to cast ''Skölir'' and block the stones. She felt weak from having used up too much energy, so she drew enough energy from one of the diamonds around her feet to refresh herself.

''Kveykva!'' Lightning sprang forth from her hand and struck Arya so suddenly that she didn't have time to prepare. Arya flew out of her circle, ending round one. _Yes! Only two more to go._

The Elven eldress got up and returned to her circle.

''Since you won that round, I'll start. Since this is a new round, you must remove any enchantments that you placed on your side of the field.''

''Véldigra, Ebrithil.''

The first round had taken about ten minutes, and the second round, which Ari won again, took almost nine minutes, leaving eleven minutes for Ari to defeat Arya one more time.

Arya began. *****''Brisingr, kausta lam iet un malthinae unin sverd, un varda lam iet fra brisingr.'' Flames from several lanterns few to her hand, creating a sword made of fire that did no burn her. She threw the sword at Ari.

Ari cast ''Vindr'' and her wall of air went up, protecting her from the flaming sword, but as soon as it did, her wall was destroyed.

Ari spent her turn by summoning the wall again.

Arya cast ''Kveykva''. Lightning struck the wall of air, destroyed it and would've hit Ari with magnified force because of the elemental properties, had she not cast ''Skölir'' in time to deflect it.

*****''Vanyalí abr adurna, brisingr, deloi, kveykva, vindr, garjzla, un sundavr, malthinae unin böllr un jierda Arya svit-kona!'' Dirt from the ground, embers from the lanterns, air from all around them, water from the creek, shadows cast by the lanterns, and conjured light and lightning all bound into a ball of pure energy and lashed out at Arya, sending her flying against the wall on the other end of the massive room.

Both Arya and Ari crumpled to the ground, unconscious. The diamonds around Ari were completely drained of energy.

**I really enjoyed writing this chapter, as I have always been fascinated by the concept of magic. I hope that you enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Below is the list of phrases in the Ancient Language used in this chapter that I did not translate in the actual content of the chapter. Please comment and tell me what should happen when Nathon duels against Arya. Also, everyone interested should comment and tell me what they think is going to happen next. The person who is closest to what happens will recieve a sneak peak of the first part of the next chapter.**

*****Brakka du vanyalí sem huildar eka!- Break the magic that holds me!

*****Véldigra, Ebrithilar.- Very well, Masters. (I couldn't find an Elvish word for 'yes' or, so I made my own using the Norwegian 'veldig bra', or very well. Apparently, Christopher Paolini used Old Norse to fashion the Ancient Language.)

*****Atra esterní ono thelduin, lérlingar iet.- May good fortune rule over you, my students. (There was no word for students, so I made my own, using the Norwegian 'lærling')

*****Deloi, rïsa un thaefathan unin stenra- Earth, rise and thicken into stones. (I'm just guessing that ''stenra'' is plural for ''stenr''. If I got that wrong, then correct me in your review, and I will try to fix it.)

*****Brisingr, kausta lam iet un malthinae unin sverd, un varda lam iet fra brisingr- Fire, come to my hand and bind into a sword, and guard my hand from fire.

*****Vanyalí abr adurna, brisingr, deloi, kveykva, vindr, garjzla, un sundavr, malthinae unin böllr un jierda Arya svit-kona- Magic of water, fire, earth, lightning, air, light, and shadow, bind into an orb and hit Arya svit-kona.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer- I do not own Eragon, well I own a copy of all four books, but I do not own the original concept, nor the characters, settings, or original story. I only claim possession of the events and NEW character's and settings depicted in my story.

**The Return of the Riders**

**An Eragon Fanfiction by PercyJackson67**

_''Vanyalí abr adurna, brisingr, deloi, kveykva, vindr, garjzla, un sundavr, malthinae unin böllr un jierda Arya svit-kona!'' Dirt from the ground, embers from the lanterns, air from all around them, water from the creek, shadows cast by the lanterns, and conjured light and lightning all bound into a ball of pure energy and lashed out at Arya, sending her flying against the wall on the other end of the massive room. _

_ Both Arya and Ari crumpled to the ground, unconscious. The diamonds around Ari were completely drained of energy._

**CHAPTER 4-**

Nathon ran over to Ari and checked to make sure she was okay. When he confirmed that she was no longer losing energy to her spell, and that she would live, he ran over to Eldress Arya and cast ''Waïse heill'' on her, using the energy from the diamonds in the closest duel field.

''Vakna.'' Awaken, he cast on her as soon as her wounds were completely healed. Ari was already coming to. ''You two scared me to death.'' he said shakily.

''Sorry Nathon.'' Ari replied.

''I apologize as well. It is your turn to duel me, by the way.''

''Very well.''

Arya transferred energy from all of the surrounding crystals to refill the emeralds and diamonds in the main duel field. She stepped back into the emerald circle, while Nathon stepped into the diamond circle.

''The same rules from Ari's duel apply here, got it?''

''Yes, Ebrithil.''

Ari heard Agenna calling out to her, so she opened up her mental link with her dragon partner.

_ What happened? Fírnen, Timberwolf and I heard some kind of explosion, then the roof started shaking. I've been trying to contact you for five minutes._

_ I'm sorry, Agenna. Arya svit-kona's test was to duel her, and, well. Here's what happened._ Ari sent mental images to Agenna depicting her last spell, as well as the rest of the test.

_Great _*****_Umaroth! You cast the elemental burst spell?_

_I guess. Is that what what it's called?_

_ You don't get it. That spell is the ultimate elemental spell. Only the Elder's have ever been strong enough to cast that spell. Even attempting that should have killed you._

_ To be fair, I did have twelve large diamonds full of energy helping me._

_ Even so, you should have died, not that I'm complaining, because if you die, then I die as well._

_ Maybe that's why the Eldress looks distracted._

And Arya was distracted, thinking about how such a young Rider had managed to survive casting the Elemental Burst. It was already the third round, and only five minutes had passed since Nathon began taking the test. He only had to knock her outside one more time.

''Deloi, sharjalví.'' As soon as he finished casting the spell, the ground underneathe Arya threw her into the air,causing her toland outside her circle. Nathon passed the test.

Getting to her feet, Arya said, ''Congradulations, you both pass. Head to Glaedr-elda's home and take your history test.''

''Ugh.'' Both Ari and Nathon groaned. History was, surprise surprise, the most boring subject of all time.

Arya walked them upstairs to their dragons. The four said goodbye to Eldress Arya, then flew off towards Glaedr's cottage outside Doru Araeba.

Ari looked back towards Arya's house, and she could just barely see Arya flying off on Fírnen towards Eragon's house in the Southern part of Doru Araeba. She turned back to the front, wondering to herself and Agenna why the Eldress was worried.

- Glaedr's home was basically a pedestal at the front of a large room. It was set up like a classroom. There were ten rows of desks, each row with twenty desks, each desk with two chairs. The room would hold 250 students, with 200 of them in desks, and the other 50 standingup or sitting in the floor. At the front of the room was a pedestal that held a golden orb. That orb was Glaedr-elda's Eldunarí, his heart of hearts, which contained all of his knowledge, his personality, his conscious, his memories.

The pedestal, like the heart, was gold. It took the form of a Rider's sword sticking out of a large stone. The handle was black, as every Rider's sword Ari had ever seen, with a smooth topaz in the pommel, kept in place by a ring of gold. The guard was gold also, and had the form of two dragons, their heads symmetrically facing away from each other, their tails winding down the hilt. The blade was bronze, and perfectly straight.

''Ebrithil, is that a real sword, or is it merely a decoration of your pedestal.''

''Take a seat on the other end of the room from Nathon.'' His words seemed bitter, as if Ari's question had brought up painful memories that Glaedr was unwilling to share. She took one last look at the pedestal, and noticed the word _Naegling_ emblazened upon the blade. She could not quite place it, but she knew she had heard that word before.

Unable to shake the sense that she should know the word _Naegling_, Ari took her seat as Glaedr began explaining the test.

_You will each be given a large scroll with 50 spaces on them. I will project the questions directly into each of your minds. When all of you have finished writing down your answers to each question, I will give you all the next one. I will be monitoring your minds the whole time, so if any of you try to reach out to someone's mind and cheat by asking for answers, all four of you will fail. Is there anything you do not understand?_

_ No, Ebrithil. _All four of them answered simultaneously.

_Very well, your first question is: Who was the first Rider?_

All four of them answered it as Eragon, Rider of Bid'Daum, which was correct. They continued answering questionson their scrolls for about two hours, until finally, the 47th question came up: _What was the name of my Rider, Oromis's blade?_

This one stumped everyone but Ari. _Of course! Naegling! That's why I know that name! _

After the test, Glaedr revealed their scores. Ari passed with flying colors, with a score of 100%, Nathon got 85%, Timberwolf got 80%, and Agenna got the lowest grade, 50%, which should have failed her and Ari, but since Ari's score was so high, their average was 75%, which allowed them to pass anyways, so long as Agenna swore in the Ancient Language to study the information that was on the test so she could take the test again someday and pass it.

_Glaedr-elda, _Ari began, _is that sword merely part ofthe pedestal, or is that the real Naegling, the sword of your ex-Rider?_

_ Since you have asked the question, I will answer it. Yes, this is the real Naegling. Soon after the fall of Galbatorix, I had Eragon Shadeslayer search the wreckage of Uru'baen for my Rider's sword, because I was confident that it had been taken there after his death. When he found it, he took it back to Ellesméra and I had Rhünon svit-kona trun the blade into a pedestal to set my Eldunarí on so that he and I would be together once more whilst I help teach the next generation of Riders._

_ I'm sorry for bringing back painful memories._

_ While it hurts to remember my deceased Rider,my lifelong companion, I must remember him from time to time, or else I might forget him,and that would be even more painful. You have no reason to be sorry, and I apologise for snapping at you earlier._

_ You are forgiven, Ebrithil._

_ You do not have to call me _Master_ anymore. You have passed my test, which means you my student no longer._

_ But there is much more we can learn from you._ Nathon decided to weigh in.

_Yes, but the fact that you acknowledge that you still have much to learn proves that you are ready to become full-fledged Riders._

_ Elrun ono, Glaedr-elda._

_ Atra esterní ono thelduin, lérlingar iet. Head now for Roran-vodhr's house in the Western part of Doru Araeba._

_ Glaedr-elda, it is dark out now, should we not wait for morning for Roran-elda's test?_

_ Were it not Roran's test, I would say yes. However, Roran is very impatient, and he will want to test you immediately._

_ Véldigra._

The four said goodbye to Glaedr, and departed for Roran's house.

When they arrived at Roran's house, they saw a note on the door saying to meet him at the park in the morning.

''That's wierd. Didn't Glaedr-elda say that Roran-elda would want to test us as soon as we were done with Glaedr's test?'' Nathon inquired.

Agenna answered him. _Yes. I believe he did._

Ari responded. ''There's more. Look.'' She began reading the rest of the note. '''I am sorry for this inconvenience, but Eldress Arya has called a meeting of the Elders, and I am required to attend. Therefore, your test will be held tomorrow morning at Pearlgate Park in the center of Doru Araeba.' Well, that's that. I suppose there's nothing we can do about it. Although I wonder what the meeting is all about.''

''I'm wondering the same thing.''

_As am I. _Timberwolf responded.

The two groups split off, each heading to their own home.

The next morning, Nathona, Timberwolf, Ari and Agenna met outside Roran's house, then headed to Pearlgate Park. There, they saw Roran waiting next to his dragon. It was much smaller than thorn and Saphira, but that's not saying much, because Saphira and Thorn are the two oldest dragons alive, other than Glaedr, but he's an Eldunarí. Roran's dragon was snow white, a very majestic shade of white.

She was a proud dragon, the daughter of Umaroth, Vrael's dragon. As soon as she hatched for Roran, the elves in Alagaesia gave him Islingr, Vrael's sword. Roran was hesitent to accept it, not because it was the sword of one of the most famous Dragon Rider's in history, but because then it was more commonly known as Vrangr, the sword of the evil King Galbatorix.

During his reign, Vrangr had gone from the majestic white of snow, to the depressed white of bones and death. since then, with Roran as its wielder, it has almost gained all of its former majesty as it sits sheathed at the side of another good and true Rider, a worthy heir of Vrael.

Islingr was in its sheath strapped to the saddle of Roran's dragon, Diamone. At Roran's side was his preferred weapon, a large hammer forged by the dwarves named Az Knurl rak Ingeitum (The Stone of the Smiths). It had been forged by the dwarf King Orik specifically for Roran, and now every time Eragon, Roran, Arya, or Saphira sees it, they think of the friend that passed away about fifty years ago. Unfortunately, no dragon had hatched for Orik, even though the original contract between the Humans, Elves and dragons had been expanded to include the Dwarves and Urgals.

Since then, many Dwarf and Urgal Riders had been made, but never once did a dragon hatch for Orik. He was missed by Eragon, Arya, Nasuada (she had also become a Rider, but declined Elderhood because she was tired of having to be a leader, for she had spent too much time at the head of the Varden as well as Queen of Alagaesia), Saphira, and Roran, but that was in the past.

Roran removed his belt with his hammer strapped to it, and set it on the ground, leaning against Diamone. He removed a small folded-up board, and a velvet sackfrom his saddle bags, and placed them on the table.

''My job has always been to test the leadership and strategizing abilities of every new Rider. Therefore, my test is simple. I created a game about seventy years ago that does just that. It shows how well you strategize, whether or not you can look at the big picture and see everything around you, or if you are narrow-minded and can only see what's right in front of you. It shows how you would lead a group of soldiers as well. This game is called Chess.

''I assume you both know how to play?''

''Yes, Ebrithil.''

''Good. Ari, you first. You be black, I'm white, so I go first.''

Roran started out by moving the pawn in front of his queen forwards one space.

Ari did the same, but with the one in front of her king.

They went on like this for a while, moving their pieces around, taking one of each others pieces whenever they could.

Finally,after a short, ten minute game, Ari put Roran in checkmate.

''Ari svit-kona, you have passed the final test, and are therefore certified as a full-fledged Rider. Congradulations. Your turn Nathon. Again, you are black.''

Nathon won in much the same way, with a few differences, but the result was the same. Roran congradulated him in becoming a Rider in full and sent the group back to Murtagh's to tell him that they were ready for their swords.

When they arrived at Murtagh's, they saw that their swords were forged already.

''My test showed me how you like to fight, so I bgean forging your swords based on that. I trust that they suit you?''

''Very much so, Murtagh-elda.'' They both responded. Ari's sword was a rapier. It had a long, thin, sliver blade forged from Brightsteel, and the guard had a dragon's head at the top of the white hilt with its body curving out and downwards to connect with the pommel, creating an arch of protection for her hand. It had a clump of cut to resemble Agenna's eye for a pommel.

There were no runes on the blade, obviously because it had no name yet. Ari took this to mean that Rider's name their own swords. *****''Sverdar, eka nam ono Aiedail.''

''A fine name, indeed. And you, Nathon?''

Nathon's sword had a thick, grey blade. Its guard was shaped like outstretched dragon wings with the tail running down and curving aroundthe hilt, which was grey as well, instead of black, like most Rider's sword hilts. It's pommel was much the same as Ari's, but in the shape of a dragon's fang instead.

Both swords were works of art and worthy of being wielded by Riders. Ari and Nathon were honored to wield such beautiful, yet strong weapons. Like Ari's sword, his had no name, so he pondered for a bit, then said, '' Sverdar, eka nam ono Du Slytha Maela.''

''An ominous name. May I ask what inspired you to dub you sword thusly?''

''It's not really ominous when you know the reason. 'The Silent Sleep' is a story that my mother used to tell me when I was a child. It was always my favorite story, and one of my fondest memories of her. My brothers and sister would sit around the fire and listen tomy mother sing the story. She was Elven, so she had a beautiful singing she sang the story, I felt as if it would come true. Next week is the Agaetí Blödhren, so I was planning on singing the story during the celebrations.''

''I believe that I would like to hear it now, if you have time.''

''I'm sorry, Ebrithil, but if it pleases you, I would like to wait until the celebrations. Plus, I do not remember all the words, so I must take time to recall exactly how the story went. Plus, I was going to translate it into the Ancient Language, so that will take time.''

''I understand. And you are a full Rider now, so I am no longer your master. You may call me Murtagh-elda still, but I am no longer Ebrithil to you.''

''Véldigra, Murtagh-elda.''

**Kvetha Fricaya. So, Ari and Nathon are Riders in Full. Did anyone catch my reference to that specific chapter of ****Brisingr****? It was the very chapter in which Rhünon gave Eragon his new sword. Also, anyone who was actually paying attention will probably be wondering how The Agaetí Blödhren is happening MORE than 100 years after the previous one, as opposed to exactly 100 years later. Well, the way I'm telling it, the Blood-Oath Celebration was moved to coincide with the modifying of the agreement to include the Urgals and Dwarves. Does that satisfy your OCD minds? In any case, the next chapter will be about part of the Agaetí Blödhren, and will introduce a few new characters. Until then, Séonr sverdar sitja hvass.**


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer- I do not own Eragon, well I own a copy of all four books, but I do not own the original concept, nor the characters, settings, or original story. I only claim possession of the events and NEW character's and settings depicted in my story.

**The Return of the Riders**

**An Eragon Fanfiction by PercyJackson67**

_''An ominous name. May I ask what inspired you to dub you sword thusly?''_

_ ''It's not really ominous when you know the reason. 'The Silent Sleep' is a story that my mother used to tell me when I was a child. It was always my favorite story, and one of my fondest memories of her. My brothers and sister would sit around the fire and listen tomy mother sing the story. She was Elven, so she had a beautiful singing she sang the story, I felt as if it would come true. Next week is the Agaetí Blödhren, so I was planning on singing the story during the celebrations.''_

_ ''I believe that I would like to hear it now, if you have time.''_

_ ''I'm sorry, Ebrithil, but if it pleases you, I would like to wait until the celebrations. Plus, I do not remember all the words, so I must take time to recall exactly how the story went. Plus, I was going to translate it into the Ancient Language, so that will take time.''_

_ ''I understand. And you are a full Rider now, so I am no longer your master. You may call me Murtagh-elda still, but I am no longer Ebrithil to you.''_

_ ''Véldigra, Murtagh-elda.''_

**CHAPTER 5-**

It was two days until the beginning of the Agaetí Blödhren, and Nathon still hadn't finished translating his mother's story into the Ancient Language. He contemplated asking Ari or one of his other friends for assistance since their Ancient Elvish was much better than his, but he wanted this to be his work. He needed to do this by himself, otherwise it wouldn't be his work of art.

Besides, the struggle to translate the song helped himtake his mind off of his problem. The problem that, even three years into their partnership, he still hadn't even let his own dragon find out about.

He heard a knock on the door, so he walked over to it, unlocked it, and opened the door just a crack, so as to see who it was.

He looked through the crack and saw a flash of red hair, and pointed ears. He saw green, almond-shaped eyes, a small, pointed nose, angular jawline. She had pale skin, which was rare for an elf.

He opened the door for his 17-year-old girlfriend of 5 years, Vala.

''Hello, Vala.'' he said with a smile.

''Kvetha, Nathon.'' She replied, returning his grin. He leaned in and kissed her. ''I haven't seen you in a month, are you okay?'' Her smile quickly faded and became lines of concern and worry as she said these words.

''Yes, I'm fine. I just... haven't been feeling well is all. I'm better now, though.''

''That's good, but why didn't you say anything?''

''I... um... I didn't want to worry you.''

''Oh. Well, um, how considerate, but you're my boyfriend, and I need to know when you aren't feeling well.''

''Got it. I'll tell you next time. Is there any particular reason you stopped by?''

''Is the need to see my boyfriend not reason enough?'' One look and he could tell that he'd hurt her.

''I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. I'm just frustrated at not being able to translate this song my mother used to sing to me. I want to sing it at the Agaetí Blödhren, but in order for it to be _my_ presentation, I need to translate it to the Ancient Language. Unfortunately, I don't have the extensive knowledge of Ancient Elvish that most Riders do.''

''Maybe I could help.''

''No, then the credit would go to you. I'll just make a trip to the library and check out a few scrolls that might help me.''

''I can do that for you.''

''But didn't you have something you wanted to present?''

''Yes, but one, I'm done preparing, and two, I want to help you in ny way that I can.''

''Elrun ono, Vala.''

She stared at him, eyes wide in surprise. Nathon was never formal with her unless he or she had done something wrong, so she immediately thought she'd forgotten his birthday, but no, his birthday wasn't for another month.

''Did I o something wrong, Nathon?''

''No. Why?''

''Did you?''

''Not that I'm aware of. Why do you ask?''

''Because you are NEVER formal with me. You always say 'thanks' or 'thank you'. You never tell me 'Elrun ono'. What's wrong?''

''Nothing.'' He lied. ''Is it so wrong for me to want to surprise my girlfriend once in a while?''

''I guess not. I'm sorry for doubting you, Nathon.''

''Think nothing of it.''

''Oh! I just remembered that you are a full Rider now, congradulations!''

''Thank you, so is Ari.''

She stopped herself from frowning at the mention of Ari. When they were kids in the Elven city of Nädindel, she and Ari had been the best of friends. When their dragons hatched for them, Arya svit-kona had taken them both to Vroengard on Fírnen, carrying their dragons with them. They became even greater friends, because of their competitiveness.

They were constantly trying to outdo each other, beat each other at everything. Ari had bested her at almost everything. Magic, swordplay, hunting, even becoming a full Rider. But one competition had come between them. They had both seen a very handsome young Rider apprentice when they were 12.

They decided that they were going to see who could get the young boy to fall for them first. They weren't really interested in him, it was just another competition. Ari was much more beautiful, so she used that. She flirted with him, flaunting her looks. Vala, however, was smart. She had befriended the boy, and got to know him. However, she realised too little, too late, that she had actually fallen for him.

Ari got mad when Vala stopped spending time with her, and more time with Nathon. When Nathon asked her out, she said yes. Ari became jealous. She didn't like that her best friend had ditched her for a boy. She eventually gave in and forgave Vala, but their friendship had never been the same.

''Vala, I don't know what happened between you two, but she's my friend, and you're my girlfriend, you two used to be the best of friends, but you aren't now. For me, please, I'd like for you two to get along, please?''

She hesitated, then replied, ''You're right. I'll go try to become friends with her again. Maybe we can start over.''

''Thank you. Why don't you stop by her house and congradulate her on your way to the library.''

''I will. Wiol ono.'' For you.

She kissed him and walked away.

She was on her way to Ari's house from the library, but Ari wasn't home. She scanned the area around her home, but Ari was nowhere to be seen.

_Oh well. I'll try again later._

She headed back down the road to Nathon's house.

When she arrived, she saw the door was open. She walked in, and saw Nathon lying on the floor, with Ari crouched beside him. Blood was leaking from his mouth and Ari was frantically trying to heal him. Unfortunately, since she didn't know what was wrong, she couldn't heal him properly.

Vala fell to the ground, choking back sobs as her eyes burst into tears. She heard flapping outside, and looked out the window. Three dragons had landed just outside the small cottage. Agenna and Vala's brownish/bronze dragon, Tera, stepped aside as Timberwolf looked inside at his Rider. He didn't seem to be hurting, so Vala knew there was still hope. She ran outside and hopped on Tera as she took to the sky.

_Tera, we need to find Arya svit-kona!_

_ Okay. I think she's in a meeting with the other Elders, though._

_ Doesn't matter, I need to talk to her now!_

_ Very well. To the Dragonspyre it is._

The Dragonspyre was an extremely tall tower at the center of Doru Araeba. It held about 1000 rooms inside, one for every Rider. There were at least 600 empty rooms still, for it is difficult to train many more than 350 Riders in the span of 110 years, but Eragon and the Elders had trained about 400 Riders, and had about 800 more who had dragons, but had not yet completed their training.

The Elders each had rooms in the Dragonspyre as well, but they preferred to remain in their homes on the outskirts of Doru Araeba. However, since they were having a meeting, all seven Elders were on the top of the building, so their dragons could take part in the meeting as well. Tera approached the roof, roaring so as to announce their presence to the Elders. They didn't want to get in trouble, after all.

Each Elder/Eldress was in their armor, with only slight differences from common Rider's armor. An Elder's armor is chain mail colored the same as the Elder's dragon, and a white breastplate worn over it. They wore a cloak around their shoulders colored the same as their dragon. Their belt had eleven gems or pieces of metal around it that matched their dragons as well. On the table before tham were their helmets, which were the same white as their breastplate, gauntlets, and sabatons. At the top of their helms were two plumes jutting out at opposite angles, each colored the same as their dragon's scales.

On their breastplates and shields, if they chose to carry a shield, was a rampant dragon the same color as their own. Eragon was the opposite, as Head Rider. His armor was white chain mail, helm plumes, cloak, and rampant dragon, with a blue breast plate, helm, gauntlets, sabatons, and shield. Instead of eleven saphires, he bore the belt of Beloth the Wise, twelve clear diamonds embedded upon it.

Eldress Katrina was speaking. All of the Elders were listening intently, but Eragon held up his hand, and she fell silent. He stood and looked in the direction of Tera and Vala, and all of the Elders did the same. Tera landed on the roof and crouched down low enough that Vala could hop off.

Vala looked around nervously. She had never seen all seven Elders in one pace before. She felt twleve sets of eyes, and one conscious on her as each Elder and their respective dragons looked at her expectantly.

Eldress Nasuada spoke first. ''Well? Is there any reason in particular that an apprentice felt the need to barge in on a very important meeting between the Elders?''

''Nasuada,'' Eragon replied, and all eyes in the room turned to him, ''I'm sure there's an explanation. I doubt that young, er, what's your name?''

''V- V- Vala, s-s-s-sir.'' she stammered.

''Vala, then. I'm sorry, but with more than 800 students, it's hard to keep up with faces and names. Anyways, Nasuada, I doubt that miss Vala knew how important this meeting was, and I'm sure that for her to, er how did you put it? 'Barge in on it'? I'm sure that for her to 'barge in' on us she would have a very good reason.'' He turned to Vala again. ''What did you come to say, young one?''

''Um- er... Nathon, a... friend of mine has collapsed and is coughing up blood. I don't know what's wrong with him. I was hoping one of you might know what to do.'' She said, tears forming in her eyes once more.

Nasuada's gaze softened. ''I apologize, young one. I didn't know.''

Glaedr spoke forth from his Eldunari, and everyone turned to look at him on his pedestal.

_I believe I know what plagues your friend so._

_That's odd, they all look at Glaedr-elda with even more respect than they do Eragon-elda. Why is that? _Vala thought to herself, but Glaedr was already in her head.

_ Perhaps, _Glaedr responded, _because I am centuries older than all of them put together, and I have fought in more battles, and worse ones than all of them. I lost my leg, and my Rider, Oromis, and yet still I serve the Order of the Riders. I know more about the original Order than each of them, because I am the last of the original Order. Is there any doubt that I am one to be respected?_

When Glaedr spoke, Vala could hear many things. Pride, honor, respect, caring, and, possibly most of all, melancholy. He held so much sorrow in his heart that it nearly overwhelmed Vala and Tera. Even the Elders, Eragon, and their dragons seemed affected by it.

_Forgive me, Ebrithil. I did not mean to, I mean, it was not my intention-_

_ It's quite alright, young one. Please describe exactly what you saw, out loud, if you will. _

''Yes, Ebrithil. Well, I visited Nathon earlier today, and I felt that something was wrong with him, but he told me he was fine, so I ignored it, then he sent me to the library to check out a few scrolls, and when I came back, Ari was crouched on the ground next to him, attempting to heal him. It wasn't working, however, so I came to beg for the Eldress Arya's assistance.''

Arya looked puzzled, and asked, ''What about the symptoms? What did he look like?''

''Um, he was extremely pale, he had blood coming out of his mouth, his fingernails were turning yellow, his eyes were red, and his eyelids were black.''

''Was he breathing?''

''I don't know. As soon as I saw him, I... came to get you.''

''You hesitated. What happened?''

''I... collapsed on the ground.''

''Are you feeling well?''

''No, I mean yes, but what I meant was, when I collapsed, I was... crying.''

''Oh, I see. The boy must mean a lot to you.''

''Yes, he does. He's my... boyfriend.''

''I see. Well, I will see what I can do for him.''

''Elrun ono, Ebrithil.''

Arya, Fírnen, Vala, and Tera flew back to Nathon's house. When they arrived, Nathon and Ari were talking. Nathon appeared totally fine. Arya looked him over, then gave Vala a look of exasperation, then she and Fírnen flew off.

''But... you were... Why are you...? Huh?'' Vala stammered, extremely confused.

''What?'' Nathon asked.

''But you were bleeding out of your mouth!''

''I don't know what you're talking about. I'm perfectly fine.''

''But... But... Huh?''

''Are you feeling okay, Vala?'' Ari inquired.

''Yes, I'm doing fine, but I swear I saw Nathon bleeding out of his mouth. He was lying down on the ground, dying!''

''What are you talking about? I've been sitting here waiting for you to get back with the scrolls from the library. Did you get them?''

''Yes I got your scrolls.'' Vala responded, giving in.

''Good, may I have them now, please?''

Vala handed Nathon the translation scrolls, then looked towards Ari.

''Ari, may I speak with you outside, please?''

''Yes.'' Ari responded whilst heading for the door.

Once outside, Vala turned back to Ari.

''Okay, I swear I saw Nathon dying. I'm not crazy. You were there, Ari. Can you tell me in the Ancient Language that none of it happened?''

Ari responded in the language of the Elves, proving that what Vala saw had not happened.

''But, how then?'' Vala asked herself. ''Ari, do you think I'm going crazy?''

''No. Somehow I don't thinkyou are going crazy. I don't know what's going on, but I don't think it's that.''

''Thank you Ari.'' Vala then chuckled to herself. ''You know what's funny?''

''Hmm?''

''Before I went to the library, Nathon made me promise to try and make up with you, try and become your friend again.''

''Really?''

''Yeah. It's really important to him that we get along again.''

''I'd like that, Vala.''

''Me too. May I ask, why we stopped being friends?''

Ari hesitated, then sighed. ''It was because of... Nathon.''

''What?''

''Remember that contest we had all those years ago, trying to win his affections?''

''How could I? That was the one contest I beat you at. It was how Nathon and I fell for each other.''

''Exactly. You weren't the only one who fell for him. When you started to get closer to him, I feared I would actually lose a contest to you. I was vain, I realize that now. Anyways, I decided to try and get closer to him myself, and I... started to... fall for him myself.''

Vala turned away, starting to feel herself getting angry.

''Vala, I'm sorry I never told you, I was just mad because he chose you over me.''

''Yes, well you still should have told me.''

''Vala, I'm sorry, okay? Can we still please go back to being friends, I would like to believe that you wouldn't harbor a grudge over something so small that happened years ago.''

''IT WASN'T A SMALL ISSUE, ARI!'' Vala yelled. ''AND THE FACT THAT YOU WOULD THINK IT _WAS_ SMALL JUST GOES TO PROVE THAT YOU DON'T KNOW ME AT ALL!''

By now, Ari was almost in tears. ''Vala, I said I'm sorry. I don't know what more you want from me.''

Vala tried to calm down, but Ari could still hear the rage behind her voice.

''Tell me that you are no longer in love with Nathon. Tell me you two are just friends, and that you want nothing more from him.''

''Nathon and I-''

''No.'' Vala interrupted. ''In the Ancient Language.''

''Nathon un eka...'' Ari struggled, trying to force the words out, but the magic of the Ancient Language wouldn't let her lie. _Why can't I say it? I am not in love with him still, am I? It doesn't make sense, I got over him more than two years ago, I accepted that he and Vala were together. Why would I still harbor these feelings?_

_**Kvetha fricaya. Greetings, friends. **_**So, here's the Fifth chapter. Sorry about the wait, the original plan was to begin the Agaetí Blödhren in this chapter, but this part just kept dragging itself on and on, so I decided that here was as good a spot to end it as any. Next chapter will begin the Agaetí Blödhren, however. It won't be in the very beginning, for all I know, it could be at the very end, but I will start it next chapter. Also, I began towonder while writing this chapter if anyone was even remotely curious as to how the song Nathon is going to sing goes. If you are, then simply tell me in the reviews. Also, I would really appreciate it if people would start commenting on more than just my LEMONS. It really frustrates me that I have three LEMONS and two regular fics with no sex scenes in them at all, and people are only commenting on my LEMONS. In any case, to the many, many person who is reading this story, please comment. And by the way, that was me being a samrt aleck, not just a grammatical mistake. XD **_**Sé onr sverdar sitja hvass. May your swords stay sharp.**_


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer- I do not own Eragon, well I own a copy of all four books, but I do not own the original concept, nor the characters, settings, or original story. I only claim possession of the events and NEW character's and settings depicted in my story.

**The Return of the Riders**

**An Eragon Fanfiction by PercyJackson67**

_Vala tried to calm down, but Ari could still hear the rage behind her voice._

_ ''Tell me that you are no longer in love with Nathon. Tell me you two are just friends, and that you want nothing more from him.''_

_ ''Nathon and I-''_

_ ''No.'' Vala interrupted. ''In the Ancient Language.''_

_ ''Nathon un eka...'' Ari struggled, trying to force the words out, but the magic of the Ancient Language wouldn't let her lie. _Why can't I say it? I am not in love with him still, am I? It doesn't make sense, I got over him more than two years ago, I accepted that he and Vala were together. Why would I still harbor these feelings?

**CHAPTER 6-**

"I knew it. You are still in love with Nathon."

"I' m sorry, Vala. I didn't know it myself until just now."

"Save it, Ari. I don't care. The only important thing is that he's in love with me, and I love him just the same back. You would do well to remember that you have no place in our relationship."

"I know that, Vala. Believe me, I do. I wish I didn't love him, but I do, and I can't change that. Can we still go back to being friends?"

Vala hesitated for a minute, then replied, "For Nathon's sake, yes. But I've got my eye on you, and don't think that I'm going to completely trust you like I used to."

"I understand."

_Then away to her tower, her final hour, and joined her love in an eternal Spring._

_ Their spirits joined, peacefully, at the Great Forest's core,_

_ And they shall rest, in a Silent Sleep, forevermore._

"Finally. Finished with the translations." Nathon said to himself, with a sigh of relief. "Now I might finally be able to leave the house and do something."

He wondered where Timberwolf was, the dragon had not checked in on him in days, which was not like him. Nathon decided to try the mind-link and see if his partner was in danger.

_Timberwolf, are you there?_

_ I am here, little one._

_ Where are you?_

_ I am coming._

_ Let me rephrase that, where have you been?_

_ You will see when I get there._

_ If you've been hunting, you know I don't want you bringing any carcasses near here._

_ I know. I may not understand your disgust of meat-eating, but I respect your wishes as you respect mine. In any case, that is not what I'm talking about._

_ Well then, please tell me what you _are_ talking, er, thinking about._

_ You will see._

And with that, the dragon dropped out of the sky, causing the ground to shake as he landed.

_Wait a second. Timberwolf, did the ground just shake?_

_ Indeed._

_ How, you aren't big enough to do that yet, is someone with you?_

_ No._

Curious, Nathon got out of his chair, then walked outside, only to see that over the past three days, his dragon had doubled in size. Timberwolf was now almost 11/2 times the size of Agenna.

"Whoa, Timber. What happened?"

_I hit my growth spurt._

"Apparently. Wow, Murtagh-elda said it would happen soon, but this... Wow."

The dragon made a sound that only slightly resembled a chuckle, then shot flames into the sky.

_Have you completed your work for the Agaetí Blödhren?_

"Yes, I have. Are you submitting anything?"

_No. I do not feel the need._

"Oh." Nathon replied, a little disappointed.

_Very well, I was going to surprise you at the ceremony, but I don't like to see you like that, so I'll tell you now. I am not _going to_ submit anything, I have already submitted it._

_ Really? That's great! I'm proud of you, Timberwolf!_

_ Thank you. I was not going to, until I saw how hard you were working on your project, and then I saw Agenna working on something, so I wanted to impress her, so-_

_ Wait a second, you wanted to impress Agenna? What, do you have feelings for her, or something?_

_ Impossible. Dragons do not fall in love with other dragons, we are merely overcome with a mating lust, and the overwhelming need for a mate to continue our lineage._

_ Fine then, are you overcome with a mating lust, and the overwhelming need for a mate to continue your lineage with her?_

_ Very funny, Nate._

_ So it's 'Nate' now? What happened to 'little one'? _

_ I was trying something new, sue me._

Nathon chuckled to himself, went back inside to grab his submission, then flew off to the center of Doru Araeba in order to secure himself a spot in the ceremony.

Ari couldn't remember the last time she had cried. Before today, she couldn't even remeber what crying felt like. She hadn't had any reason to cry in years, yet here she was, sobbing like a mother who had lost her child.

_Why did I not realise how I truly felt sooner? What is wrong with me?_

Agenna poked her head in the doorway and gazed upon her Rider with great concern.

_Ari?_

_Go away Agenna! _Ari responded as she buried her face in her pillow.

The dragon looked hurt, or her aura felt hurt, since dragons don't generally show emotion on their faces. She backed outside again and flew away.

_You do realise that I can still hear your thoughts no matter how far away I am, right?_

_ Leave me alone!_

_ No._

_ No?_

_ Correct. I will not leave you alone until you tell me what is troubling you._

_ Fine! You really want to know why I'm angry?_

_ You sound more sad and hurt than angry._

_ Whatever!_

_ Yes, I want to know._

_ Alright then. _Ari sent Agenna a barrage of images of Nathon and Vala together, as well as images of herself and Nathon together. Finally, she sent her dragon the memory of her recent "chat" with Vala.

_Oh. I'm sorry._

_ For what? It's not your fault._

_ Actually, it is._

_ What do you mean?_

_ I mean, those feelings that you have for Nathon aren't yours. They're mine._

_ You're in love with Nathon?_

_ Ye- No! It's... Timberwolf._

_ WHAT?!_

_ Please, do not yell inside my mind. It hurts my ears enough on the outside, but it's magnified when it's in my head._

_ Sorry. But, when did this happen? _

_ I do not know. And by the way, dragons do not fall in love, we-_

_ Yeah, I know, you've told me before. 'Mating lust' blah blah blah._

_ You mock me?_

_ Yes, I do. Because of you not being able to keep your emotions inyour heart, I just ruined my chance to become Vala's friend again._

_ I apologise. But you know, now that I think about it, the affection you sent me was your own affection, but it was not irected towards Nathon. I believe you are in love with someone, but the question is, who?_

_ I don't know._

_ Could it be...? No, that's impossible._

_ What's impossible?_

High above Doru Araeba lies a floating island. It is not visible even to dragons from the ground, in order to reach it, a dragon has to fly up past the point where the world becomes round, instead of flat, then keep flying.

The island is a lush paradise. The grass there is greener than it has the right to be, because it is closer to the sun. Flowers bloom there that would not survive at any lower elevations. Certain flowers have even evolved to harness the power of the sun, and become miniature suns themselves. Each animal has a little bit of their own magic.

Squirrels fly from branch to branch. Birds swim in the ponds. Lizards can change colors to fit in with their environment. Even the bugs have gained the power of the sun, glowing in the night, lighting up the island with their dancing.

Eragon and Arya walk together in this paradise which they call "Utopia". This island is spoken of in Elvish Lore, but only Eragon, Arya and their dragons have ever seen it for themselves. Once a month, the two Riders fly up here on their dragons and walk together through the meadows, across the creeks, through the woods, up the hill at the center of the island.

Here, they rest. They lay back and gaze up at the stars, not saying a word, because what word could possibly describe such beauty. Words would simply dull the wonder, the mystery, the majesty of the island.

As the two Riders lay there, and bask in the glory, the magic of the island, they both share images between themselves and their dragons of building a home for themselves here one day, when they are no longer needed.

Sadly, they know this can not be, for any attempt to build obn the island would only ruin the mgic, the view.

Instead they watch. They watch as the glowing bugs dance, complimenting the twinkle of the stars, and the glow of the moon. They listen. They listen to the music of the forest. They listen to the wind blowing through the trees, to the croak of the frogs, the howl of the wolves, the hoot of the owls, the final chirps of the birds.

Eragon and Arya, Saphira and Fírnen smile. Arya grows tired and curls up against Eragon, quickly falling asleep listening to the beating of his heart. Eragon looks at the beautiful elven maiden sound asleep, and smiles even wider, thinking to himself, _As beautiful as this place is, there is only one sight more beautiful, and I'm looking at it. _

Saphira seems to have heard his revelation, for she purrs in agreement.

The next morning, the Riders and dragons wake up and gaze upon the beauty of the morning. The majesty of the island in the morning, although similar, is also different, but equally breath taking.

The sunlight reflects of the creeks, glistening, glowing. Shiny stones catch the rays of light and reflect it in many directions, a rainbow of colors creating a perfect atmosphere.

The slight breeze blew the scent of the flowers to them, creating a subtle, pleasant aroma. The swaying of the trees, and the grass, and the flowers seemed to dance to a different, but just as beautiful song as the glowing insects the night before.

The song of the birds, and the breeze, and the running water reverberated throughout the meadow, making the four wish they didn't have to leave.

Unfortunately, they knew that today was the first day of the Blood-Oath Celebration, and Eragon was expected to begin the celebrations.

**Kvetha Fricaya. Greetings, friends. So far, I still only have 2 reviews for this story, and I really wish more people would give me feedback, so please, when you read this story, comment on it, I would like to know that my talent is acknowledged and appreciated. Any constructive criticism you can offer will be appreciated. So, tell me what you think about my work so far, and seriously, does anyone want to read Nathon's poem, or do I just save myself the trouble, and just focus on writing my stories more? Please tell me. Anyways, comment and review my work please. Sé onr sverdar sitja hvass. May your swords stay sharp.**


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer- I do not own Eragon, well I own a copy of all four books, but I do not own the original concept, nor the characters, settings, or original story. I only claim possession of the events and NEW character's and settings depicted in my story.

**The Return of the Riders**

**An Eragon Fanfiction by PercyJackson67**

_The next morning, the Riders and dragons wake up and gaze upon the beauty of the morning. The majesty of the island in the morning, although similar, is also different, but equally breath taking._

_ The sunlight reflects of the creeks, glistening, glowing. Shiny stones catch the rays of light and reflect it in many directions, a rainbow of colors creating a perfect atmosphere._

_ The slight breeze blew the scent of the flowers to them, creating a subtle, pleasant aroma. The swaying of the trees, and the grass, and the flowers seemed to dance to a different, but just as beautiful song as the glowing insects the night before._

_ The song of the birds, and the breeze, and the running water reverberated throughout the meadow, making the four wish they didn't have to leave._

_ Unfortunately, they knew that today was the first day of the Blood-Oath Celebration, and Eragon was expected to begin the celebrations._

**CHAPTER 6-**

Eragon and Arya mounted their dragons, who then leapt off the edge of Utopia and flew down to Doru Araeba. Everyone had begun to gather in the great halls of Vroengard under the thrones of the Elders.

Each throne was made of gold, a homage paid to the golden dragon, Glaedr, without whom, the Riders would not exist. Ech throne was inlaid with gems corresponding to the colour of the Elder's dragon. Eragon was in the center of the ring of thrones, an intricate seat with twelve saphires around the top of the backboard. To his left were the male Elders; Murtagh being the closest seated to the Lead Rider, followed by Roran. To Eragon's right was Arya, seated in a similar throne, more intricate than the others, but with the emeralds embedded in it that matched Fírnen. On her right was Nasuada, the gems on her throne were amethyst, matching her lavender coloured blade, and Violet, her dragon. Katrina was on Nasuada's right, her throne with wooden details, her blade a bronze colour that matched her dragon, who was almost identical to Tera.

The six Elders sat proudly upon their thrones, nine tables stretched out before them, each representing a particular colour of dragon, and able to seat more than 150 Riders in training, the entire Order of the Riders in the massive gathering hall for the start of the Agaetí Blödhren. Lining the walls were hundreds and hundreds of dragon nests, seating each and every dragon of the Order, except the Elders' dragons, who were resting in nests behind their Riders. Eragon stood up to begin his speech.

He cleared his throat, then began, his voice ringing clearly throughout the Hall.

"More than 2000 years ago, the Elves came to Alagaesia, finding the land wild, and ruled by dragons. The dragons did not take kindly to the newcomers, who colonized the forests, and attempted to rid Alagaesia of them. There followed a mighty war for more than a century, with heavy casualties on both sides, due to the dragons misunderstanding the Elves.

"Du Fyrn Skulblaka ravaged the lands, and desecrated the home of the creatures of the land, air, and water. No place laid untouched by the war, the desert, the forest, the streams and lakes, the mountains, the valleys, the meadows, all places were nearly destroyed. The Elves and Dragons saved Alagaesia, though, by ending the war, and creating a contract between the two races. Thus, the first Riders were created, to ensure peace and tranquility throughout the land.

"Then, the Humans arrived, and attempted to claim the land as their own. The Riders acted quickly, and expanded the contract to include humans, so as to prevent the war from happening again. The Humans were quickly followed by the Dwarves, who quickly headed for the mountains, and keeping to themselves, and the Urgals, who began to terrorise the kingdoms of the Humans, Dwarves, and Elves. For 1000 years, the Riders prevented full war, celebrating the day of the creation of the contract, naming the anniversary of that day the Agaetí Blödhren, the Blood-Oath Celebration. But then, one of the Riders went rogue, and slayed Vrael, the lead Rider after being denied a second dragon due to the death of his first. Galbatorix proclaimed himself King of Alagaesia, and the thirteen Forsworn sought to ensure that he stayed that way. In a single, bloody battle, Galbatorix and his followers killed almost every Rider.

"Brom, one of the last Riders standing after the battle, for 12 of the 13 Forsworn had been killed in the battle, sought out Morzan, the last of the 13, and killed him and his dragon, ending the days of the Riders. His son, Eragon, hatched another egg, the dragon named Saphira, and, with the help of the Varden, Oromis and Glaedr, who both lived during the first Age of Riders, waged war against Galbatorix, ending in victory for the Riders and Varden, and freeing another Rider and Dragon who had been under Galbatorix's control, beginning the dawn of the Second Age of Riders, and expanding the contract yet again to include the Dwarves and Urgals, moving the Agaetí Blödhren to this day, in celebration of the Urgals and Dwarves joining the pact.

"Also on this day, we celebrate the new Riders in Full, those who have completed their training, and are ready to leave Vroengard on missions to Alagaesia, as well as the crowning of a new Elder. Nar Garzhvog has trained under we Elders for almost a century, and has earned the title of Elder himself, being the first Urgal to do so. I, Eragon Bromsson, Shadeslayer, Aregetlam-"

_And I, Saphira Bjartskular_

"As well as the other Elders." Arya continued.

_And their Dragons_. Fírnen joined in.

"Welcome Garzhvog with open arms to the Elder's Circle, in recognition of his service to the Order, and outstanding leadership skills and valour." Eragon concluded, and everyone cheered as Garzhvog stood up and climbed the stairs to kneel at the Elders' feet, his black Dragon leaving its nest to do the same.

"I, Garzhvog, formerly chieftain of the Kull tribe, accept this honour and will continue to serve the Order until my dying breath. I shall strive to ensure peace and tranquility throughout Alagaesia, and will assisst in the training of future Riders for as long as I shall live."

_And I, Nyxia, swear to serve alongside my Rider, and shall work towards the same goals as he._ The black Dragon swore as well.

"Then rise, Garzhvog and Nyxia, and take your place beside the Elders." Eragon said, gesturing to a chair set beside Roran, which, with a few words from the Ancient Language spoken by each of the Elders, became a throne as impressive as their own, with black diamonds lining the backboard.

Garzhvog sat down in his throne and gazed out towards the gathering of Riders, proudly, Nyxia resting behind him in a dragon's nest, enchanted to become black.

"Now, the Riders who have completed their training will now step forwards and place their swords on the ground. Ari!" Eragon began listing the name of each Rider who had completed their training since the last Agaetí Blódhren. The list took ten straight minutes to complete, and when he was finished, fifty new Riders in Full stood before the Elders, speaking the oath, including Ari and Nathon.

Vala gazed upon the fifty former trainees, smiling as her gaze turned to Nathon. She had not yet completed her training, though she was not far from it. She longed to be standing next to him, and her new old friend, Ari. She glanced back to Tera, sending a silent message to her saying that they need to finish their training as soon as possible, so as to join Ari and Nathon.

"Rise now, as new Riders, and be seated with your comrades. You shall await your orders after the celebration. Now, without further ado, let the Agaetí Blódhren commence." Eragon clapped his hands and food appeared in the center of every table, the hundreds of Riders scrambling to fill their plates before the food was gone.

Across the room from Vala, seated at the Red/Orange table, was a Human Rider who had just completed his training. He had just stood and spoken the oath like the others, but they were merely words to him and his orange dragon, Lucypher. Their goals were not the same as the Order's, for they had much more malevolent hearts than even Galbatorix. Vanur's grandfather had been slain by Eragon's father, and he sought revenge. Vanur, son of Murtagh, was merely biding his time, waiting for the signal of the one who would provide him with the opportunity to obtain his revenge, and take the head of Eragon.

**Kvetha fricaya. Greetings friends. I kind of figured that no one could make a better enemy of the Riders than a Rider, so if this seems kind of repetitive, just give it a few more chapters. I plan on kind of modernising things just a bit. Not so much as to completely destroy the medieval world of Alagaesia, but just enough that Vanur and his allies would provide a greater challenge than Galbatorix ever did, MWAH-HA-HA! Anyways, comment on this story, let me know what you think. Sé onr sverdar sitja hvass. May your swords stay sharp.**


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer- I do not own Eragon, well I own a copy of all four books, but I do not own the original concept, nor the characters, settings, or original story. I only claim possession of the events and NEW character's and settings depicted in my story.

**The Return of the Riders**

**An Eragon Fanfiction by PercyJackson67**

_"Rise now, as new Riders, and be seated with your comrades. You shall await your orders after the celebration. Now, without further ado, let the Agaetí Blódhren commence." Eragon clapped his hands and food appeared in the center of every table, the hundreds of Riders scrambling to fill their plates before the food was gone._

_ Across the room from Vala, seated at the Red/Orange table, was an Elven Rider who had just completed his training. He had just stood and spoken the oath like the others, but they were merely words to him and his orange dragon, Lucypher. Their goals were not the same as the Order's, for they had much more malevolent hearts than even Galbatorix. Vanur's grandfather had been slain by Eragon's father, and he sought revenge. Vanur, son of Murtagh, was merely biding his time, waiting for the signal of the one who would provide him with the opportunity to obtain his revenge, and take the head of Eragon._

**Chapter 8-**

Nathon was worried. Ari hadn't come out of her room for almost a week, except for the start of the Blood-Oath Celebration yesterday. Several people had heard her crying, and when they ask her what's wrong, she merely screamed at them to go away. Nathon had talked to Vala about it, and even gotten advice from some of her friends, but despite their thoughts that he should wait her out, Nathon had determined that the only way it would end was for him to talk to her about whatever it was that was bothering her.

_No matter what she says, or screams, I will NOT leave Ari alone until I at least know what it is that's bothering her._ Nathon thinks to himself as he walks down the hall to Ari's new room in the Dragonspyre. Each of the new Riders in Full had been moved to the Dragonspyre for more advanced training, and so they could properly function as Dragon Riders.

"GO AWAY!" Ari screamed at him when he knocked on her door.

"Ari, it's me. Can I come in?"

"NO! GO AWAY!"

Nathon reached out and touched her mind, gently, but firmly enough that she'd know he wasn't going away.

"Nathon, give it up. Just, please, leave me alone."

"I've left you alone for almost a week. I even left you alone yesterday at the beginning Ceremony. What's wrong?"

"I don't want to talk about it." Her voice was getting softer, he knew he was breaking her.

"Ari, how long have we been friends?"

"Is that a rhetorical question?"

"Answer it, please."

"Since we were about 12, why?" Ari asked, choking back sobs.

"And how many times, in five years, when one of us were upset, did the we let it go and leave each other alone?"

"None. But seriou-"

"No! I'm not letting this go, Ari. We're both Full Riders, we're done with our childish days. It's time that we both grow up, and start acting like Riders. We can't give up on each other, Ari. A Rider never leaves another Rider behind."

"Unless such an action could possibly endanger the lives of others."

"Still, an emotional crisis will only hinder you and Agenna, as well as any Riders you two get paired up with for a mission. Please, I want to help. Let me come in, please."

They were silent for a few minutes, then Ari opened the door and Nathon realised she was much worse off than he thought.

Her red hair was ratty, it looked like an overgrown jungle. Her face was red, and drenched with salty tears. Her clothes were obviously several days old, and messy. Her gray nightgown was stained with who knows what, the right shoulder sliding down her arm, almost exposing her right breast. She didn't seem to care at all about anything but what was troubling her.

"I didn't want anyone to see me like this." She said between sniffles.

"Good gods, what happened to you? Who died?"

"No one died, as far as I know."

"Then what's wrong?"

"Come in and close the door."

Nathon did as instructed.

"What I'm about to tell you, can never leave this room."

"Okay."

"You might be mad, and I guarantee you're not going to like it."

"Obviously not, if it's bothering you this much."

In the Ancient Language, Ari said, "I think... I'm... gay..."

Nathon's jaw just about hit the floor, but he recovered quickly, "Is that all? Well, that's nothing to be ashamed of."

"I know that, and I'm not, but there's more."

"Oh? What else? Is Agenna gay too?"

"No, but, the reason I think I'm... gay... is... I'm in love with...-"

"With?"

"Vala."

If Nathon's jaw had hit the floor before, it went through the floor now. He was confused, he felt slightly betrayed, but he couldn't even imagine what Ari was feeling.

"I know you're probably angry with me, but I assure you, I had no idea until a few days ago." Her tears were coming back, and the frustration, and anger, and despair that had been building up inside her for days burst forth in a torrent of sobs.

After hesitating for a few minutes, Nathon spoke, "Ari, I don't care if you're gay, I don't care that you... have feelings for my girlfriend, that doesn't matter to me. All that matters is you realize that we are friends, and you can talk to me about anything. All that matters is you never lock yourself in your room like this again, okay?"

"Y-yes, Nathon. Elrun ono."

"Okay, no let's go enjoy the celebrations, okay?"

Ari nodded her agreement. She had Nathon turn aound as she changed into her favourite beige leather leggings and the gray tunic that was standard for gray Dragon Riders. She threw on a silver-threaded cloak over her shoulders and put on a pair of brown leather boots. Around her neck was a necklace her mother had given her before she left for Doru Araeba. It was completely silver, with a simple Dragon charm dangling from it.

Nathon turned back to look at his friend, and realised that she was beyond his reach. He cared deeply for Vala, but his heart had, for a long time, now, belonged to Ari. However, if she truly was gay, then their relationship would never be more than their being friends.

Ari glanced over at Nathon. He wore much the same as she, standard gray tunic, silver cloak, brown leather boots, but his leather pants were blue. Ari walked over to her mirror and brushed her hair, then, realizing she had not yet showered, simply cast a spell that would removed her body odor and cleanse her skin without wetting her clothes. Having acomplished this, Ari wet her face with water from her sink in an effort to cool down and return her face to its usual colour.

Once it did, She dried her face, then the two walked out of her room together, closing the door behind them, and headed out of the tower for the celebrations.

Agenna and Timberwolf were waiting for them with Vala and Tera.

Vala walked up to Ari and Nathon when she saw them approaching. "I knew Nathon could get you out of your room."

"What are you talking about? You told me that I should leave her alone."

"Yes, but when Timberwolf told me what you were thinking, I told myself that you could do it."

"Thanks for the confidence, then."

"Anyways, Ari, I don't know if you've met them or not, but I want to introduce you to a few of my friends." Vala walked Ari and Nathon over to the dragons, where three other Riders and dragons had joined them. Gesturing to a male Dwarven Rider with black hair and a blue dragon, she said, "This is Sam. It's short for Samarcus, but he prefers Sam."

She introduced a Human female Rider with blonde hair, and a yellow dragon as Holly. Finally, the Human male stepped forward. "I'm Vanur Murtaghsson. My mother is the Eldress Nasuada. My Dragon here, is Lucypher." Ari got a funny feeling from this Rider, and she didn't like it.

"Pleased ta make yer acquaintance, Miss Ari. Me dragon's name is Ingeitum, which means blacksmith in Dwarvish." Sam seemed eccentric, but likeable.

"And mine is Sol. I believe we'll get along perfectly."

"Come on, Ari. Let's go watch the show!" Vala grabbed Ari's hand and dragged her off to where the Elders Eragon and Murtagh were fighting on dragonback. The two were fighting an epic aerial battle, swords clanging and sparking, spells flying, their dragons biting, clawing, and blowing flames at each other. A very large crowd had gathered to watch the display of might.

The other Elders were standing on a balcony watching th show with pride, but everyone knew they were placing bets on the winner. Off to the side, a dwarven Rider-in-training was taking bets as well. The odds were 5-4 in favor of Eragon. Nathon stood off to the side with Sam and Vanur as the three girls watched the show, amazed at the skill and power of the Riders, and the grace and precision with which Thorn and Saphira flew through the air. It was more of a dance than a battle, neither side really gaining an advantage over the other, both sides perfectly balanced, biding their time, waiting for the moment to end the fight.

From his vantage point, Vanur could tell that his father's strategy relied heavily on offense, but he knew that much from their sparring sessions together at home. Besides, he was more focused on Eragon's style. Eragon was graceful, well-balanced between speed, offense, defense, and precision. Evry stroke of his blade, every parry, every attack was perfectly executed.

Vanur watched until his father messed up and gave Eragon a very small opening. Any novice Rider, or even some of the more experienced ones, would have missed it, but it was enough for Eragon to disarm Murtagh, sending _Zar'roc_ falling to the ground. Eragon tapped Murtagh's chest with _Brisingr_'s tip, ending the match. The dragons descended to the ground, allowing their Riders to dismount. The Riders shook hands, sheathed their swords, and walked up the stairs to the balcony where Nasuada paid a sack of gold each to Roran, Katrina, and Garzhvog. Arya hadn't taken part in the bet, as she felt that gambling was a waste of time. Besides, she knew Eragon would win, and felt that she needed to gain nothing from it for herself.

When Eragon neared the top of the stairs, Arya walked over to him and shared a passionate kiss with him. After that particular show was over, many Riders took turns showing their special skills to the rest of the gathering, attempting to impress the Elders. Many of the Dwarven Riders showed their mining or forging skills as they showed the blades they had forged, or the wagons of gold they had mined. The Humans showed their battle skill by fighting one another, the Elves demonstrated many different things. Several showed their skill with magic, some showed their skill with poetry, and still more showed their gift of the voice through song. Finally, Nathon stood up and began to speak.

"I'm no poet, I didn't really write this, all I did were the translations to the Ancient Language. This story has special meaning to me, for reasons I care not to go into right now, but my mother used to sing this to me all the time before I came here, only in the Common Tongue. I will sing it for you now, as best I can, in the Ancient Language." And he began singing, in a voice unlike anything even Arya had heard before:

_ In the halls of Ellesméra, the elven princess made home. _

_ She was fair, and true, but cursed to forever be alone._

_ One blessed day, the Fates gave way, and created, for the throne,_

_ A handsome knight, all clad in white, to keep her company at night._

_He was riding through the forest, when wolves, his steed did fright._

_ He drew his sword and fought them off, slaying every one,_

_ But the Rangers came, and took him away, for his crimes he must atone._

_ The king held court, 'til the knight's eyes, the princess did see._

_ Seeing her delight, the knight, the king acquit,_

_ But did not, the princess' hand, he offer, yet._

_ Instead, three tasks the knight must complete,_

_ 'Fore the king gave the throne to he._

_ 'Fore he left on his quest, next to the princess, he did rest._

_ Then woke up, early next morn, never to see his heir be born._

_ He took five men when he left, for his love had requested._

_ They rode out, six men strong, thinking not to be bested._

_ The first task came, and easily overcome, _

_ For with his glowing spear, the dragon did succumb._

_ The second task, to fill a flask with the waters of youth._

_ This, too, the knight did easily do._

_ He and his men, returned to home, the dragons head, and flask in store._

_ The king, impressed, at the knight's request, gave the final task: to war._

_ In charge of the kings army, The knight rode out again._

_ One thousand strong, the ride was long, they fought, and fought again._

_ Twelve months passed, and passed again, then the final battle came._

_ The knight fought hard, but not enough, he passed just as the years._

_ The battle won, the army went home, his corpse rest on flat spears. _

_ The princess mourned, her heartbeats spent, and gave her son to the king,_

_ Then away to her tower, her final hour, and joined her love in an eternal Spring._

_ Their spirits joined, peacefully, at the Great Forest's core,_

_ And they shall rest, in a Silent Sleep, forevermore._

When he finished, the entire crowd stood still and silent, amazed at his voice, which had seemed to make the story come to life as he sang it. Vala and Ari had tears in their eyes as they looked at Nathon. There was no way that he was merely singing a song the way he sang it, it held very special meaning to him, that much was apparent, for he had poured real emotion into it.

He bowed and walked off the stage, his performance finished. When he approached Vala and Ari, his face was white. Apparently, he had not only poured real emotion into it, but real magic, as well. The drain of energy had taken a heavy toll on him.

The girls helped Nathon sit down as the final part of the ceremony began.

Arya stood at the edge ofthe balcony and began a small speech, "As is our custom, and as was agreed upon at the end of The Dragon War by Queen Tarmunora, the first Eragon, and the white dragon who represented his race- he whose name cannot be uttered in this or any language- when they bound the fates of the elves and dragons together, we have met to honor our blood-oath with song and dance and the fruits of our labor. Last this situation occurred, many long years ago, our situation was desperate indeed. It has greatly improved since, the result of the efforts of the Varden, the dwarves, the elves, the Urgals, and, of course, the Riders. One-hundred and ten years ago, Alagaesia was blessed with a new Rider, and dragon. Eragon was not exactly what we all expected, but he stood strong and firm nonetheless. Through relentless training, his father, Oromis, Glaedr, and many others whipped him into shape and assissted him in his campain against the evil Galbatorix. He overcame the evil Rider King, and restored peace to Alagaesia through the expansion of the Rider's Pact to include Urgals and Dwarves, without whom, we would not have defeated Galbatorix.

"We now celebrate the Agaetí Blödhren ten years after the original date to celebrate the arrival of the first Urgal and Dwarven Dragon Riders to Doru Araeba, and the establishment of the four corner-cities in Vroengard, for those who are not Riders. However, though the date of the ceremony has changed, the celebrations themselves have not. In keeping with our oldest tradition, the Caretakers, Iduna and Nëya shall dance."

With that, two beautiful elven maidens walked to the center of the stage, set so all could see. They stood back to back, their identical bodies mirroring each other. All between them was the same, except one had silver hair, while the other had black.

Simultaneously, they undid the clasp at their throats, letting all of their garments fall to the ground, leaving themselves bare. A dragon tattoo wrapped itself around them, beginning with the tail tip on Iduna's left ankle, over her leg and thigh, moving to Nëya's back and ending with the head on Nëya's chest. Every scale on the dragon was a different colour, giving it the appearance of a rainbow.

The elves twisted their arms together in order to fuse the two parts of the dragon together, then each lifted one foot and placed it back on the ground softly. Again, and again they did this until musicians joined in, drummers joining first, tapping their instruments in time with the stomping, then harpists began to play softly, followed by flute players. Together, the musicians and dancers worked, moving so as to make it appear that it was the dragon tattoo moving, not the dancers.

Faster and faster the two danced, never separating, the dragon upon their skin flying around them, dancing as well. The crowd watched, as amazed at this spectacle as they were at Nathon's song. After what seemed like seconds, but was actually minutes, the dragon detacheditself from the dancers' skin and flew up to Eragon.

The dragon's voice reverberated throughout everyone's minds.

_ Thank you, Shadeslayer, for protecting our kin. For your victory over Galbatorix, your care for our young, and your protection of Glaedr, we shall grant three gifts. First, Glaedr, you shall join your Rider in the next life. There is no need to suffer any more. You have done what you needed to do, and have passed on all of the knowledge of the Riders to the next generation._

_ Thank you, my lord._ Glaedr said to the dragon.

_Second, and third, two beings have passed long before their time. We shall undo this mistake of fate._ The dragon roared, waves of energy coursing over the crowd, sending shockwaves throughout Vroengard, and even Alagaesia. The dragon then turned back and returned to the skin of the two dancers, whose dance had not ceased. Once it had returned to its place, Iduna and Nëya slunk to the ground, exhausted. A pair of humans carried them off the stage, and the Elders gasped at what they saw on the ground.

A large blue dragon surrounded a man with silver hair. Eragon jumped off the balcony and ran over to the man. He knelt beside him in disbelief. Through the murmur of the crowd, Ari and Vala could just barely hear Eragon whisper, "Brom."

**Kvetha fricaya. Greetings, friends. I really hated how Paolini killed Brom off, so I decided to bring him back to life. This might anger some of my loyal reader, yet some of my reader might like it. Anyways, the magic of the Agaetí Blödhren has done the impossible before, when the dragon tattoo made Eragon appear to be all elf, and healed his cursed scar, so why shouldn't it work to bring Brom back? Also, we'll finally meet Brom's Saphira, though she won't be quite what we all expected. I have to try to do something unexpected, after all. Anyways, comment on the story so far, but please use constructive criticism! Sé onr sverdar sitja hvas. May your swords stay sharp.**


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer- I do not own Eragon, well I own a copy of all four books, but I do not own the original concept, nor the characters, settings, or original story. I only claim possession of the events and NEW character's and settings depicted in my story.

**The Return of the Riders**

**An Eragon Fanfiction by PercyJackson67**

_The dragon roared, waves of energy coursing over the crowd, sending shockwaves throughout Vroengard, and even Alagaesia. The dragon then turned back and returned to the skin of the two dancers, whose dance had not ceased. Once it had returned to its place, Iduna and Nëya slunk to the ground, exhausted. A pair of humans carried them off the stage, and the Elders gasped at what they saw on the ground._

_ A large blue dragon surrounded a man with silver hair. Eragon jumped off the balcony and ran over to the man. He knelt beside him in disbelief. Through the murmur of the crowd, Ari and Vala could just barely hear Eragon whisper, "Brom."_

**Chapter 9-**

It had been two weeks since the end of the Agaetï Blödhren, and the man Eragon had called Brom had not woken up yet. None of the Riders' best healers could figure out what was wrong with him, he seemed to be perfectly healthy, as was his dragon. It was almost as if he was dead, but his heart was still beating, his blood still flowing.

It was more like he was dreaming, but no dream lasted this long, even when a young Rider exhausted too much magic and fell into a coma. From the corner of Brom's room in the infirmary, Vanur watched the man who had murdered his grandfather. It was difficult, but he resisted the urge to walk over and kill him. His revenge would wait, though. He would kill the person that meant the most to the aged Rider, his son.

Vanur would wait until Brom woke up, seeing his son for the first time since he sacrificed himself to protect Eragon. Only then would he stirke, cruelly taking away the last of Brom's family. He would then kill Saphira, Brom's dragon, taking her away from him again.

Vanur had the power, and the knowledge, he could do it easily. It was safe to say that he was more powerful than Galbatorix ever was, for he had found where the Elders kept the Eldunari of the dead dragons. More than that, he had found the books in the Archives dedicated to Galbatorix's knowledge. Vanur's father had recorded everything Galbatorix ever tried to teach him, wrote down every bit of the evil king's nearly unlimited knowledge.

Vanur knew everything Galbatorix knew, and more. There were things never taught to the dead king because he rebelled against the first Order before his training was completed, things that were taught to all Riders now.

"One day soon, when you awake, Brom, I will take away everything you hold dear, then I will let you live, and watch as you destroy yourself in despair. Know this, there is nothing you can do to stop me. You may have killed Morzan, but his blood flows through my veins. My father is too weak to see it, but, with the exception of Galbatorix, my family has always held the most powerful Riders, yours is nothing in comparison.

"My father could easily step up and take Eragon's throne from him, proclaim himself the true king of Alagaesia, and Vroengard, were he not so weak-minded. I will do this. I will take Eragon's throne, and destroy any Riders who dare oppose me."

The door to the room opened and Eragon, Arya, Nasuada and Murtagh stepped in.

"Vanur?" Murtagh said curiously. "What are you doing here?"

"Just paying my respects to such a legendary Rider." He replied after a moments hesitation. "After all, the one who founded the Varden, and sired the Rider who killed King Galbatorix, is surely one to be revered and respected."

"I suppose you're right, but you need to get back to the Dragonspyre. Uncle Roran and Aunt Katrina are teaching a class today. It's possible that you might learn something not taught to the trainees."

"Véldigra." Vanur turned and walked out the door.

"Alright, let's do what we came here to do." Nasuada said to Eragon once Vanur had left.

"Okay." Eragon and the other Elders each put a hand on their belts, drawing every spare drop of energy from the crystals, and channeled the energy to Brom. Arya had had a theory, that the Dragon tattoo had drawn the energy from Brom and Saphira I to power the spell that brought them back to life. Such a spell surely had to take a heavy toll on the long-dead Rider, so the Elders decided to pool together as much energy as possible, then feed it to Brom, in an effort to awaken him, and sustain him.

One the belts were empty, they fed him the energy stored within the gems on their swords, then Eragon pulled out a relic that had not been seen since Galbatorix's fall. Eragon began to draw every last ounce of energy he could from Aren, Brom's old ring.

Once Aren was about halfway empty, Brom's blue eyes fluttered open.

"E-E-Eragon?" He stammered, still half-asleep.

"Yes, Brom?"

"Gracious, boy, would you give me some space?"

"Uh... um... yeah."

Brom sat up slowly and looked at the company around him.

"Farthen Dûr sure has changed alot since I've left."

"We're not in Farthen Dûr."

"Well then, we've got to get going. No time to sit around waiting for Galbatorix and his men to find you. I'm sure the Ra'zac aren't far behind us."

"Brom, calm down."

"No time for that, boy. We need to get you to the Varden before the Ra'zac catch up. I could probably hold my own against them, but you stand no chance."

"Brom-"

"Did you not hear what I said, Eragon? We're leaving, now!"

"Brom, Galbatorix is-"

"I know he's the king, I was there when he made himself the king, now come on! We need to get him off that throne, and the only way we're going to be able to do that is to get you to the Varden."

"He's dead, Brom."

"What, someone get to it before you?"

"No. Yes. He killed himself because I cast a spell that made him feel all the pain he'd ever caused."

"Please, that kind of spell would take massive amounts of energy to cast."

"I had help."

"Excuse me, Brom?" Nasuada spoke up.

"Yes, what is it, can't you see we're busy?"

"I believe you knew my father, Ajihad?"

"Wait, you're Nasuada? You've grown since last I saw you."

"Yes, sir. I just want to say that it's an honor to meet Eragon's father."

"Wait, what?"

"I know you're my father, Brom."

"How did you find out?"

_He figured it out himself, so our oath was not broken._ Saphira said to Brom as she poked her head in through a window.

"How'd you get that big?"

"It's been more than 100 years since you drew breath, Brom." Eragon said.

"What?"

"You died protecting Eragon from the Ra'zac. He buried you in stone, and I turned the stone to diamond to preserve your body. We recently held another Agaetí Blödhren, and the dragon spirit retuned you... and Saphira to life."

"Barzûl! You let your dragon get killed, did you?"

"No, I was talking about your Saphira."

Brom's eyes grew wide, and he was silent. Eragon sent him a wave of images depicting the Battle of Farthen Dûr, his training under Oromis and Glaedr, the Battle of the Burning Plains, Murtagh on Thorn, Oromis' death, Eragon and Saphira slaying the Ra'zac and Lethrblaka, and Galbatorix's death. He showed him Arya with a very young Fírnen as he and Saphira left Alagaesia, he showed Roran and Katrina arriving at Vroengard with Murtagh, their dragons still hatchlings.

He showed Brom how he rebuilt Doru Araeba, and built cities for Riders and Non-Riders alike, the Dragonspyre, the Rock of Kuthian, the Vault of Souls, the hundreds of Eldunari, and the hundreds of Riders-in-training and those who have finished their training.

He ended the torrent of memories with Brom and Saphira I's resurrection at the recent Agaetí Blödhren.

"Gracious, boy. You and your friends did all that?"

"Yes."

Brom hesitated, then said something Eragon never thought he'd hear coming from Brom, even if he was still alive. "I'm proud of you, son."

There were tears in Eragon's eyes, and in the eyes of the other Elders as Eragon said, "Just wait until you see it all for yourself. It's magnificent."

"That'll have to wait. I haven't seen my dragon for more than three hundred years. I won't wait another day."

"You're right, of course." _Saphira, take Brom and I to see... Saphira? This is going to get confusing._

_ Yes, it is, but it's worth getting confused about._

_ Yes, it is._

**Kvetha fricaya. Greetings, friends. I know it's a short chapter, but my mom has started restricting my time writing on the computer to only 1 hour, so I'll probably have to stick to short chapters from now on. Anyways, I hope you all think I've done a decent job at depicting the characters' personalities correctly, and please, don't hesitate to correct me on anything that I get wrong, just be constructive about it, please! Sé onr sverdar sitja hvass. May your swords stay sharp.**


	10. Chapter 10- Author's Commentary 1

Disclaimer- I do not own Eragon, well I own a copy of all four books, but I do not own the original concept, nor the characters, settings, or original story. I only claim possession of the events and NEW character's and settings depicted in my story.

**The Return of the Riders**

**An Eragon Fanfiction by PercyJackson67**

** Kvetha fricaya. Greetings, friends. This is Chapter 10 of ****Return of the Riders****, so I figured now would be as good a time as any to do an Author's Commentary. I have, since I started this story, recieved 9 reviews from readers, and I'd like to give thanks to those people, as well as answer any questions, or address any concerns they might have about this story.**

** Guest- I've recieved three reviews from guests, and I'd like to just say thanks for taking the time to comment on my story. Also, one of them brought up an interesting idea that I'd like to get everyone else's opinion about. This is what he/she said, "If I may present an idea, it has always been a cool thought that since the new pact of Riders, dragons grow up with different attributes depending on the race. For example, Dwarves' dragons have smaller wings, but run faster. Urgals' dragons grow large horn, and have longer spikes and talons, etc. I suggest this because you haven't described another races dragon yet. Have fun with the idea. Very good story." So, I thought that might be interesting, and I might actually incorporate this idea into the story, unless everyone else thinks it might take too much away from Christopher Paolini's original vision of the story.**

** WhiteLeaf12- Thank you, as well, for taking time out of your day to give me your opinion, and I'm sure you're aware how much praise such as yours means to a writer. I try my best, when I write a story based on someone else's, to keep my characters and settings, as well as event, as close to the original story as possible, so it heartens me to know that I at least partially accomplished my goal.**

** Sparkers16- As with the others, thank you for reviewing. Again, praise such as yours means a lot to a writer. I hope that I haven't done anything so far to disappoint you with the story.**

** Davisnacho- This reviewer goes to show that I don't just look for praise on how well I'm doing, I also appreciate constructive criticism. Davisnacho corrected me on a few information errors that I had missed. Since I have not actually read the books in almost a year, I had forgotten that "1. The dwarves and the dragons are BOTH native to Alagaesia. The dwarves were nomads who roamed the plains, until the harsh conditions that created the Hadrac Desert forced them to settle in the Beor Mountains. 2. Only one of the forsworn died in the first battle. The rest were either driven mad by the Banishing of Names, died through overuse of magic, or were killed through the efforts of Brom and the Varden."- Davisnacho. Thank you for correcting me, and I promise, I will find time to go back to those chapters and correct them in my story. Davisnacho also says, "I am enjoying the plotline very much. I am impressed by your creation of needed words for the Ancient Language. Overall a great story so far." Thank you for that acknowledgement, I truly appreciate that you recognised what I have done to expand upon the Ancient Language.**

** Bdobs- Bdobs reviewed three times. This is what he/she said in all three, 1."Very good narrative so far. The dragons have more complex personalities in your stories than in the original books, it seems."**

**2."Dwarves were native to Alegesia. Also, Urgals pursued the Elves into Alegesia, they came soon after."**

**3."Interesting, your idea of bringing Brom and Saphira back, though I must say that I don't approve. You did however do something unexpected, which is what you were aiming for I suppose."**

**I appreciate the constructive criticism, as I said before, so thank you for not blowing up at me for getting the smallest details wrong. Also, again, I enjoy hearing that people are enjoying my stories, even if they don't approve of certain choices that I made. I promise, if it makes you feel any better, I will kill Brom and Saphira off again, and have them die heroic deaths. I was actually planning on it, anyways. That was actually the whole point of bringing them back. But, I'll let you see for yourself how I plan on doing that when it happens. MWAH-HA-HA!**

** Anyways, I just wanted to thank the reviewers for taking time out of their day to give me their opinions, so, again, thank you. Don't worry, the story is far from over! Sé onr sverdar sitja hvass. May your swords stay sharp.**

** Now, I think I'll insert a glossary of every Ancient Language word or phrase that has been used in this story so far. It also includes those that I made up myself.**

**Simple terms/spells used in the story:**

Adurna- water

Agaetí Blödhren- Blood-oath Celebration celebrated once every 100 years to commemorate the creation of the pact between Elves, Humans and Dragons

Audr- up

Bjartskular- Brightscales (term used to show respect to dragons.)

Blöthr- halt

Brisingr- fire

Deloi- earth

Draumra ven- Dream eyes (an illusion spell that I made up. Christopher Paolini had nothing to do with it, so it's not official.)

Ebrithil(ar)- Master(s)

Eka elrun ono- I thank you

Eka fricai un Shur'tugal- I am a Rider and a friend.

-elda- a suffix attached with a hyphen to the end of someone's name to show that person respect.

Eldunari- a dragon's heart of hearts in which they may transfer their consciousness after death.

Elrun ono- thank you

Frethya- hide

Ganga- go

Ganga aptr- go backwards

Ganga raehta- go right

Garjzla- Light

Garjzla naina- make a bright light

Gedwëy ignasia- shining palm (symbol of the Riders)

Huildr- hold

Hvitr- white

Jierda- break

Kausta- come

Kodthr- catch

Kvetha fricaya- greetings friends

Kveykva- lightning

Letta- stop

Letta sverdar- stop sword

Reisa du adurna- raise the water

Sé onr sverdar sitja hvass- May your swords stay sharp

Skölir- shield

Skölir eka fra brisingr- Shield me from fire

Skulblaka's ven- dragon's eyes

Slytha- sleep

Sundavr- shadow

svit-kona- a title placed at the end of an Elven woman's name to show her great respect

Thraughta- throw

Thrysta vindr- compress the air

Vakna- awaken

Véldigra- Very well (again, I made this one up)

Vëoht- Slow

Vindr- air/wind

Waíse heill- be healed

Wyrdfell- The Forsworn

Yawë- a bond of trust

Zar'roc- misery

**Phrases and commands from the story.**

**ch1***Atra finna slytha ono un atra ono vakna heill, Ari un Agenna-no. Un ono, Timberwolf un Nathon-vodhr.- May sleep find you and may you awaked refreshed, Ari and Agenna-no. And you, Timberwolf and Nathon-vodhr. (I used the word for 'healed' because I couldn't find any Elven word for 'refreshed')

**ch1***Atra esterní ono thelduin/Mor'ranr lífa unin hjarta onr/Un du evarínya ono varda, Ebrithilar.- May good fortune rule over you/Peace live in your heart/And the stars watch over you, Masters.

**ch3***Brakka du vanyalí sem huildar eka!- Break the magic that holds me!

**ch3***Véldigra, Ebrithilar.- Very well, Masters. (I couldn't find an Elvish word for 'yes' or, so I made my own using the Norwegian 'veldig bra', or very well. Apparently, Christopher Paolini used Old Norse to fashion the Ancient Language.)

**ch3***Atra esterní ono thelduin, lérlingar iet.- May good fortune rule over you, my students. (There was no word for students, so I made my own, using the Norwegian 'lærling')

**ch3***Deloi, rïsa un thaefathan unin stenra- Earth, rise and thicken into stones. (I'm just guessing that ''stenra'' is plural for ''stenr''. If I got that wrong, then correct me in your review, and I will try to fix it.)

**ch3***Brisingr, kausta lam iet un malthinae unin sverd, un varda lam iet fra brisingr- Fire, come to my hand and bind into a sword, and guard my hand from fire.

**ch3***Vanyalí abr adurna, brisingr, deloi, kveykva, vindr, garjzla, un sundavr, malthinae unin böllr un jierda Arya svit-kona- Magic of water, fire, earth, lightning, air, light, and shadow, bind into an orb and hit Arya svit-kona.

**ch4***Sverdar, eka nam ono Aiedail- Sword, I name you Aiedail.

**Rider's swords mentioned in ****The Return of the Riders****:**

Zar'roc- Murtagh's sword. Previous wielders- Eragon, Brom, Morzan. Made for Morzan by Rhünon, with a red blade that matched his dragon. The blade also matches Thorn, Murtagh's dragon. Meaning- Misery

Brisingr- Eragon's sword. No previous wielder. Made for Eragon by Rhünon through his body, with a blue blade that perfectly matches Saphira II, Eragon's dragon. Meaning- Fire

Naegling- Oromis' sword, Glaedr's Rider. No other wielders. Made for Oromis by Rhünon, with a bronze blade that matches Glaedr. Meaning- unknown.

Támerlein- Arya's sword. Previous wielders- Naudra (non-Rider), Arva (Rider). Made for Arva by Rhünon, with a green blade that matched his dragon. The blade also matches Fírnen, Arya's dragon. Meaning- Bringer of the final sleep.

Undbitr- Brom's sword. No other wielders. Made for Brom by Rhünon, with a blue blade that matched Saphira I, Brom's dragon, does not match Saphira II, Eragon's dragon. Meaning- Biting Wound.

Arvindr- Wielder(s) unknown. Color unknown. Meaning- Wind Eagle.

Islingr- Vrael's sword. Other wielders- Galbatorix (see Vrangr below). Made for Vrael by Rhünon, with a white blade that matched Umaroth, Vrael's dragon. Meaning- Light bringer.

Vrangr- Galbatorix's sword. Previous wielders- Vrael (see Islingr above). Made for Vrael by Rhünon, with a white blade that matched Umaroth, Vrael's dragon, does not match Shruikan or Jarnunvösk, Galbatorix's dragons. Meaning- Awry.

Aiedail- Ari's sword. No previous wielders. Made for Ari by Murtagh, with a silver blade that matched Agenna, Ari's dragon. Meaning- The Morning Star.

Du Slytha Maela- Nathon's sword. No previous wielders. Made for Nathon by Murtagh, with a grey blade that matched Timberwolf, Nathon's dragon. Meaning- The Silent Sleep.


End file.
